Principles of Popularity
by WaterLilyKairi
Summary: The most popular girl in school is under the control of the biggest loser in school. How does this play out?
1. Prologue

The day started off as any other average school day. _Boring_. The same exact routine.

She got up to the loud ringing of her alarm clock. The truth was she was already awake, just didn't bother to get out of her bed. About six 'o'clock was the time she always got up too. It left her plenty of time to get ready for school and simply lag around the house.

With a sigh she climbed out of bed and slipped her feet into her bunny slippers and shuffled her way to her vanity desk. She sat down in front of her large mirror and stared back at he reflection. Most people to expect a bed head to greet them, but not her. Every night she wrapped her up carefully and cover it with a silk scarf. It was a technique she learned from her mother, it kept your hair from breaking off and other hazards.

But she didn't come to her desk to do her hair,not yet anyway, she'd come to get tools for her bath. Now, some people just use soap and water. Simple. Others used an assortment of different bath soaps and even, flowers or foods to help their skin. She was in _that_ group.

So, after a long pleasurable bath, she lotioned her body thoroughly. Then she brushed her hair, which fell from it's scarf just as silky and a beautiful. Finally she dressed. Her school uniform was the average as any Japanese school uniform. The dark plaid skirt, white dress shirt (with short sleeves, it was spring), red ribbon at the collar, and others had something else, but some shared the same dark vest.

Some people, guys mostly, would think this was an awful lot for a simple routine. That this would explain why their sisters, or moms or lovers took so damn long in the bathroom. Well, it is why they take so long in the bathroom. The second reason is because of periods. But we won't get into that. Anyway, beauty only comes naturally for some, and even they have to do a lot of work to maintain it.

After pulling up her black stockings past her knees, she made her way down to breakfast. Her sister and father were already eating, while their housekeeper set down Hinata's breakfast. She silently thanked her as she sat down in front of her meal, a bowl of oatmeal with many different berries and fruit on top. She smiled and took a sip of her water.

"Good morning, big sister!" Greeted, Hanabi, her younger, and only sister. The brunette took more after their father, while she did their mother.

The teenage girl smiled at her little sister who was only thirteen years old."Good morning to you too, my precious sister." She made a teasing face at her in which Hanabi responded with a little snicker. "And good morning to you, Father."

The older man, Hiashi, the father of the two girls, only nodded behind his newspaper. He was always reading the paper at breakfast She often heard Hanabi complaining that if he wanted to know the the News just to use a smartphone. But her father didn't have a smartphone, he had a flip-phone, which of course to her little sister was a crisis in itself. She often teased her father about it.

The truth was, Hiashi didn't know how to use technology all that well. So he stuck to the simple old stuff. Hanabi had offered many times to teach him,but he would not embarrass himself by having a child teach him. The man was too proud.

"Father, if you won't get a smartphone then at least get a tablet." Hanabi said, pointing her spoon at her father. Watching him like this was too painful for the pre-teen who was in the know. The girl knew everything about what was popular nowadays, she often gave her tips on her choice for clothing and make-up. But she rarely ever wore make-up, just on occasions. She loved helping with her make-up when she did wear it, after all the girl wasn't allowed to wear any until she reached the age of fifteen.

Her father set down his paper to look at his daughter, and turned to his oldest."Isn't a tablet just a bigger version of a smartphone?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. To most his face and every action he'd make was intimidating. Not to his daughters tough, okay sometimes it was, especially when he was serious. But they could tell when he was and wasn't. And once you get to know him, yes he was still scary but mostly firm and stuck in his own ways. He expected big things from his girls and anyone who got in their way was dead.

"Basically." She nodded her head, taking a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth. Not bothering to respond to the scorn on her little sister's face.

Hiashi nodded as well and went back to reading his paper with a mutter of."That's what I thought."

They finished the rest of their breakfast in comfortable silence. And then headed towards school. Hanabi as usual took the limousine with her father on his way to work. She always liked arriving to her middle school in style, hell, she liked arriving to anywhere in style.

She on the other hand, walked. It was the most average thing, but she enjoyed walking to school. It gave her time to enjoy and marvel at all the little sights. And honestly, the school wasn't even that far away for a car ride.

It was a windy day, but still sunny. She liked this weather a lot, probably the best. Then came the pathway, that lead to school, the sakura tree orchard. She knew as soon as she made this turn that was when her day really started. With a deep breath and one last check over herself she took the turn with a pleasant smile on her face.

"Good morning, Hyuga-princess!" A boy called, waving frantically at her. She dipped her head towards him, showing that she did acknowledge him. But kept a safe distance from them.

The boy's face went red while his group of friends hooted at her and she laughed softly. Which, pretty much melted any boy in the vicinity. After that, she couldn't recall how many fellow school mates greeted her with a good morning, it was dizzying, but she was used to it. This was indeed, her second year at the school. She was now a sophomore.

And she received thousands o waves and smiles as well. Of course, she couldn't respond to them all. But to the ones she did, they always sighed with contentment or grinned so hard she was afraid would stay stuck that way.

Yes, this was exactly how her days at school started. And they seemed especially happy to see her after thier summer break. But to her, she felt like no time had passed at all. It was so easy to slip back into her old routine.

Suddenly arms were thrown around her from behind, she almost fell on her butt, but her back hit someone's chest. She was relieved to know it was a girl from the soft feeling. And she knew immediately who it was. "Good morning, Inoue." She said, with a teasing lilt.

"Hinata! You know I don't like that name. It's either Ino or nothing." The blonde beauty pulled herself off of her companion and instead hooked arms with her.

Yes, she was very aware of what Ino liked to be called. They were on first name bases, so of course, they were close. But she couldn't help but tease the girl sometimes. She made it too easy."Okay, nothing."

"If you weren't so cute, you'd be in serious trouble." Ino grinned at her and pulled her closer to her. In reply she tilted her head to the side and smiled, knowing that it was in fact a cute thing to do, especially on herself.

Ino laughed clearly amused but also awed. "It's no wonder why the whole school adores you! Hinata, their Hyuga-princess, their angel sent from the heavens, their goddess that descends light upon them."

If this was her first day of school, she would have denied it all. But after spending her time here, these were their actual nicknames for her. No matter how many times she tried telling them just call her Hyuga, the couldn't help but add 'princess or goddess or angel.' In the end, she gave up and let them all her so.

Hinata rolled her eyes and shrugged."Where's Sakura?" She asked, once noticing the third person to their little group was not with them.

As if on cue, the pink haired girl ran up beside them."Sorry, sorry." She panted, placing a hand on her chest, trying to catch her breath.

Hinata being the kind person she was, stopped in her tracks and placed a hand on her friends back as if it would help her breath more steadily. Ino was forced to stop as well and groaned.

Sakura smiled at Hinata, gratefully and pulled her bag to her chest."Thanks. I'm good, let's go." She moved and wrapped an arm around Hinata's free one. Together the girls were a sight to see. Konoha's beauties.

Ino was their leader. She was certainly bossy, outspoken and walked around like she owned the school. Sure she was a little mean, but no one bothered to mess with her or her friends. She was also the queen of gossip, so if you had something you wanted to stay a secret, you better not be near her in anyway. Or rumors would be spread around the school in five minutes flat. Matter of fact, even if she didn't like you, she'd probably spread rumors about you anyway. And if she wanted something, she would get it.

Another thing was the fact that she was in fact, _hot_. The second hottest of their group. Her long pale blonde hair and sky blue eyes wasn't even the best of her feature, she was tallest out of them with her long legs. Those long legs were n fact her best feature, sure she had a a nice sized chest but it wasn't as ample as Hinata's. But, she was more revealing than Hinata and Sakura by far, when it came to clothing.

As for Sakura, she was the last hottest out of their group. But that didn't make her any less pretty. She was still, one of Konoha High's beauties. So, she was more pretty than any other girl in the school. Sakura was a nice enough person, but she followed after Ino, doing the blonde's bidding. And like Ino, you didn't want to say anything private in front of her, because she'd snitch to the blonde.

Though, she wasn't the smartest of them and a bit of a klutz. So innocent she was, but these attributes of hers made her so cute and loved by all the boys. Most girls didn't take her seriously, though but never bothered her. She was in Ino's friend group.

The girl had the most exotic pink hair that complimented her well. Her hair and eyes were her best features. Her long pink hair was soft and smelled as beautiful as it look as it fell past her shoulders. And her eyes was the most magnificent green, like a gem or jewel. Oh, and she had a nice butt. They all did. What about butts were so attractive anyway?

And there was Hinata. She wasn't the leader, but she was definitely the most loved and beautiful of their group. No, of their school. The girl was practically perfect. She was incredibly kind, helping out other when they needed, sharing, keeping secrets, especially from Ino, and acknowledging others. She was smart, always paying attention to class and studying when she needed to instead of going out to have fun. She was an active person, always productive. And ready to help.

Of course she was gorgeous. Her best features? Well, all of her! She was the shortest of the three of them, but that didn't subtract from anything. In fact, it added. She had long indigo hair, with the right lighting it could appear ink black. Her body had the curves in all the right places, and still had it's slender appearance. Her chest was full and her hips were wider than the other girl's, giving her her an hourglass figure.

The girls admired her, looked up to her, aspired to be her! The boys drooled over her, they would do anything for if she asked, but they kept their distance too intimidated by her popularity, beauty, and friends.

Even the teachers loved her. She was one of the top students of their school and the student council often came to her asking her help with tasks. She, of course, accepted them. And was often asked to join the council, but she rejected.

So, there you have it. It was impossible to mess with any of them. Of course, there were popular boys as well, but they only mixed in once in a while. But Hinata preferred to stick with her small group of Sakura and Ino.

Once the opening ceremony was over, thank god, they went to check the board again to see what homeroom they were in. Ino let out a loud squeal when the three of them were all in the same classroom again. Sakura was a little late, but squealed as well. Hinata just smiled. It would be more comfortable with them.

She recognized most of the names on the board, others sounded familiar. But there was one name that she didn't recognize at all, nor did it seem familiar.

Namikaze Naruto.

No one else knew who this person was either. So she dismissed it as a transfer student. But what type of names was Naruto? It was the first she heard someone named after the fishcake.

Ino and Sakura practically dragged her away from the board in a hurry to get to class. They quickly switched their outdoor shoes for their indoor slippers. She couldn't help but marvel at the color change of the stripe, yellow. She was really a sophomore, no more blue stripes for her. It made her feel somewhat proud. Again she was dragged away in a hurry.

The two other girls wanted to hurry and select their desk so they could sit next to each other. But, she didn't see why it would matter. If they wanted, the people would move for them with one wave of the hand

Luckily, they didn't have to wave any hands at anyone. The found a perfect pair of seats near the back corner of the room. Hinata liked sitting up front so that she'd be one of the first people the teacher would call if he had a question or duties that needed to be fulfilled. But she settled with her friends and figured she'd just have to raise her hadn't, she stood out anyway so it wouldn't be so hard.

Sakura and Ino engaged in a conversation about some new nail polish that worked swell. But Hinata didn't bother to join in, she began setting up her desk by putting her bag on the hook and pulling out her new notebook and began sharpening her pencil. As she sharpened her pencil, she felt someone staring into her back. She was used to this, people stared all the time.

But, when someone was staring and she was not aware. It was just plain uncomfortable. Whipping around so she could see the culprit. She found the person wasn't even staring anymore, just gazing out the window. He was in the last seat to the back, right behind her. She couldn't see his face because he was wearing a thin looking hoodie, his face cover by the hood.

How strange? Why would he be wearing a hoodie and wasn't that in violation of the school dress code. But she didn't dare say anything. She only smiled and turned back around. And then she felt his eye on her back again. She breathed in and began to stand up, but their teacher arrived just in time. No, actually he was late. Like they were waiting ten minutes for this guy to show up.

It was a relief, though, because she felt that his eyes were no longer on her. So, she sat back down in place.

"Good morning class!" The teacher greeted the class with a weak wave of his hand.

Hinata deflated when she saw that their teacher was a male. She liked female teachers better. They got along a lot better. And he was a little suspicious looking, wearing that mask. She knew it raised a lot of eyebrows of other students.

"I am Mr. Hatake. I teach math. And I'll be your homeroom teacher for now on." He said, writing his name on the board. He turned back to the classroom, looking each an every one of them over. Hinata felt a chill when he looked at her last."Any questions?"

"Yeah, why were you so late?" It was indeed a good question. Konoha High School wasn't one to have irresponsible teachers. Weird ones, but not irresponsible. And each teacher had graduated from this very school and an advanced college.

Mr. Hatake scratched the back of his head awkwardly."I got late helping an old lady crossing the street."

Everyone was skeptical of that. Someone even snorted.

"Anything else?"

"Why are you wearing that mask?" Someone asked, with a raised hand. Now that was a good question. Everyone perked up to hear his answer. What could he be hiding underneath it?

"I have breathing issues and allergies. Since it's spring...It's not the best time of year for me." He answered, smiling ever so pleasantly through his mask. It was hard to see if he was being honest or not. That didn't matter. It just didn't satisfy the student's curiosity.

But, it was clear to see he was done with that question and anything else to do with it."If that's all. There is someone else who needs to be introduced." He looked at Hinata, and she stiffened. She gaped, utterly confused, but then she heard the boy behind her scooting his chair back and rising from his seat.

So, he wasn't talking about her. She felt embarrassed for a moment, but no one else noticed her reaction. They were to focused on the boy and soon she was set her gaze on him as well.

"Come on up. Don't be shy." Mr. Hatake coaxed him to the front of the class. She shrunk closer to the wall as he walked down the row, pass her. He was in front of the whole classroom in no time. She knew his introduction would have he whole class judge him. And looking at the way he was dressed, it wasn't looking good.

His school outfit looked baggy on him and his hoodie. First of all it was a violation of the school code, so she was surprised the teacher didn't say anything about it. And it was a very old looking hoodie with tears in it, but you couldn't see unless you really looked. The hood covered his face well, but you could still see some of his face, not! He had long blond hair, darker than Ino's, covering his eyes and most of his face, you could only really see his mouth and nose.

The boy stuffed his hands into his pockets, but held his head up. She couldn't tell because his eyes were covered by his mess of blonde hair, but she was almost certain he was staring at her. She got the same feeling when he was staring at her from behind. She blinked and shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"Your name?" Mr. Hatake asked, leaning against his desk. Watching the boy.

"Namikaze Naruto." He answered he had a bit of an accent. She couldn't tell what it was, though.

And the class erupted in a fit of laughter. Who was named after a fishcake? So, not a good start for this new student. Hinata was the only one who didn't laugh. She pitied the boy.

Naruto stood there patiently until the class was quiet enough so that he could continue talking. Mr. Hatake slammed a book against his desk quite loudly. And everyone shut up. He didn't look annoyed or angry, though, it just seemed he wanted them to be quiet. He looked back at the boy, beckoning him to continue.

"I'm a transfer student from the countryside." At least that explained the accent she heard in his voice, but it wasn't too strong."My dad moved for work."

There was still a few snickers in the crowd, but none too loud.

"Do you have any dreams, Naruto?" Their teacher asked.

The boy, Naruto, was quiet doing a once over the class. You could tell because his head was moving. He smirked, though it was bare. "Yeah. To have this whole school kneel at my feet."

Totally not a a good start.

* * *

 _I was supposed to have started writing this story a while ago, but I busy with other things. Like life and I had already started writing another story before. A SasuSaku. But I'm not going to put it off any longer. So I will start writing this and continue my other story. Writing two chapter stories can prove to be difficult, but I think I can handle. So, that means the chapters to this stories will come slowly. Probably two weeks time separate or less._

 _But if you want more and fast reviews are one way to get it quicker. I love reviews so much! I like to hear your thoughts and I'm not gonna lie, praise is nice *blushes* But who doesn't like to be praised! It makes them feel good and want to give the people more! So reviews are welcome, and you can always pin this to a community and advise others to read if they love NaruHina!_

 _So review/favorite and follow!_

 **Little Miss Kairi out!~**


	2. Disastrous Encounter

**Disastrous** **Encounter**

* * *

Hinata hadn't even seen it coming.

Her being pressed against her locker, as he stood in front of her wearing an evil mischievous smirk. She could hardly breathe. And his smirk told her that he knew! He knew her secret! The secret she fought so hard to hide, apparently not hard enough.

How did she get here again? Let's rewind, back, back, back!

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

It had been a week since the Namikaze kid announced his very... _interesting_ dream. As soon as he said so, he instantly became the most hated on kid in school. Ino made sure of that. She spread rumors like crazy, though she claimed she heard them from the teachers. Rumors like;

He was a gangster.

He beat up a teacher so badly he had to be hospitalized, just because he didn't want to do an assignment.

He forced his girlfriend to kill herself after he knocked her up.

He blackmailed people to his friends.

He hid his face because he looked as ugly as a beast.

These rumors were so horrible they couldn't have been, at least to Hinata. Ino _was_ the one who started spreading them, she just liked gossiping _and_ ruining peoples reputation and high school lives. And hearing Namikaze say he'd have her kneel at his feet she was insulted and decided to teach him a lesson, not giving him a warning. sad, but that's what happened. Of course, the blonde never said this aloud. But her actions spoke clear enough.

The rumors spread around the school like wild fire. Konoha High loved gossip, just as much as they liked hating on others so the focus wouldn't on them and their issues. Sadly there was nothing you could down about it. This was just how it was, you could only try to keep your deepest, darkest secrets to yourself.

And it just didn't make sense. If these rumors were true why would the school let such a horrible, horrible person in their school? Her conclusion was that those rumors weren't true, and just nonsense.

But it didn't matter what Hinata thought, _even_ if she was at the top of the favored students. Once you were Ino's target, you became the school's target and no opinion from anyone popular could save you. They would probably just drag themselves down with you. So, Hinata stayed out of it, as usual.

Plus, the guy wasn't just the most hated on kid, but she was certain he was the biggest loser in the school! Not to be mean or anything, but he was.

The boy wasn't very smart, like, he was probably dumber than Sakura and not in a cute way. Whenever the teacher asked him a question it was just another reminder that he wasn't very bright. He paused a lot in mid-answer, and had a lot of 'uhs' and 'ums', repeating the question over and over. Half of them time, he either repeated what the teacher said or made up an answer. She was embarrassed for him.

His slow learning ability turned him into the class clown and idiot. They had their own country bumpkin. And everyone always had a laugh, but he was never laughing with them. And neither did Hinata, she just smiled sympathetically.

The guy wasn't just slow in the academic department. He barely talked, unless he had to, but they boy was brutally honest, which resulted in him in insulting people. This explained why he stuck to the shadows avoiding people. So, he was also socially stupid. One area Sakura was smart in. More and more she found herself pitying him.

The only class he excelled in was PE. Which delighted Mr. Gai, (some joked and called him Mr. Man.) And she was sure that he liked him too, even though he didn't say much. Namikaze was strong and fast, maybe even better than their senior Rock Lee who was a close student of Mr. Gai.

He outranked them all by a long mile. Naturally, no one praised them and simply tried to put him down with their jealous and hateful insults. But he never reacted, just ignored them. Which only irritated them even further.

Another thing that added to his loser qualities was that he was just plain weird. He did and said things that no one understood, but neither did they try. On of those things that stood out was his hoodie. He always wore that thing, even in PE. He just never took it off. Sure, Mr. Hatake didn't have a problem with it, but that didn't mean some other teachers didn't.

Such as Mr. Ebisu, he was a nice teacher but very strict. He recognized Namikaze's violation of the school dress code right away. He told him to take it off, and he refused, rather haughtily too. In the end, he was punished by standing out in the hall, holding two metal buckets full of water. He didn't seem annoyed by it nor tired, just bored. And after a while, the teachers gave up on him taking the hoodie off. Mr. Ebisu did reluctantly, he didn't like being shown up by his students.

His other strange attributes? There was plenty, his eating habits, his weird way of coming out of nowhere, but most of all it was his staring. Hinata was most freaked out about this. He was always staring and watching people ever carefully. and he especially watched her. She could feel it whenever he was. It was uncomfortable, to say the least.

Whenever she turned to stare back, he was looking away. It felt as if a ghost was haunting her. She was more conscious of sticking with the girls. Not that she believed the rumors about him. But she didn't want him to _approach_ her. That would be disastrous.

The weirdest thing, though, was that _she_ found herself watching _him_. Why? She was unsure why. Maybe it was because he was the new kid. Or maybe because he was interesting to watch.

She just did, it was like she was looking out for him. Okay, that wasn't true. She didn't really help him at all, but she did watch him. Whenever they passed each other in halls, when he entered the classroom later than the rest, when he sat at his desk in the dark corner behind her, eating lunch by himself, when he was teased and picked on by the other boys and girls.

She just watched him whenever he was around, and still kept her distance. She felt bad for him, she really did. Though, she wanted nothing to do with him.

No one knew barely anything about was likely because they only ever asked him insulting question and if the rumors were true. He never responded to the rumors, leaving them neither confirmed nor denied.

He was a mystery.

And that attracted people to mess with him. Because they didn't get him. It was funny how simple people worked. But, he was only verbally abused, not physically. People were too scared that he really might be a gangster.

 _~ . ~_

 _It_ happened after school hours, on a Monday, when everyone headed home. Hinata had stayed behind to finish some paperwork she promised she'd do for the school council. Sakura and Ino didn't even ask if she wanted them to wait for her, they just left. But it didn't bother her.

The work was done in no time, Hinata was a fast worker. Another reason why the student council seeks her help many times. It was a wonder why she just didn't join them.

Hinata yawned and stretched a bit before going down the stairs and making her way to exit the room. You could imagine her surprise when she saw another student down there, _waiting_ at the exit. She blinked and walked over to her locker, but never taking her eyes off this student. Who was he waiting for?

It was a boy, not just any boy. But Namikaze Naruto, you could tell because of the hoodie. You know, the one he's always wearing.

He didn't see her because he was too busy looking out the windows. So, she decided to switch out her shoes and go home with out him noticing. But as soon as she opened her locker and turned around.

"Oh. You're here." He said as if he was expecting her.

Hinata froze, and felt nervous all of a sudden. Was he waiting for her? Why? They weren't friends. They never even talked to each other.

She gulped, hoping he wouldn't come any closer. Usually, she wasn't this nervous when others were around. This was why she stick to her group, so she would be more comfortable. But now, er group was nowhere to found. And she was all alone.

He walked towards her, and it took her a moment to figure out how to move again. By the time she took a step back, he was already standing in front of her. "U-um, is there anything that you wanted?" She asked, putting as much confidence into her voice as she could. But she was shaking on the inside.

"As a matter of fact, there is!" He was smiling now, but not a warm smile. No, it was darker.

He took a step forward, she took one back. Another step forward for him, and one back for her. They did this until she was backed up against the lockers.

At this point, she couldn't hide her fear any longer. She lifted her bag up to cover her face as she began trembling. Oh god! Oh god! It was going to happen all over _again_ , she didn't want this! Why was this happening? Why was this happening to _her_!

She was Hyuga Hinata! The most popular girl in school! She was smart, kind, talented and beautiful! She sat with the cool girls,she was the second command in her group. The students loved her and so did the teachers!

Girls wanted to be her and guys wanted to be _with_ her. Always doing anything she asked.

She had the most divine titles and nicknames. The Goddess among Goddesses, the Midnight beauty, Hyuga Princess and the most used, the Angel! The school practically worshiped the ground she walked on. No one could stop nor control her. It was simple, she was made to be perfect. A gift from god.

So, she should have confidence, she should be strong! Nothing could stop her. Nothing!

And yet . . . Here she was, her back pressed against the lockers with her bag in both hands, covering her face, her eyes were tightly shut, her breathing labored. She was wishing so hard, so very very hard to just disappear or turn invisible. She prayed!

She could still feel his presence as she stood, trembling . She was sure her knees would give out any minute. But he just stood there with his hands in the pocket of his hoodie, watching her carefully and curiously. Why wouldn't he go away!? Why wouldn't he just disappear!? Didn't he know who she was?!

Finally, he took another step forward, almost closing the distance between them. Hinata was dying at this point. Shaking so hard, she was practically vibrating. She peeked over her bag with her eyes open with fear. No matter how hard she closed her eyes and wished and prayed, he didn't just pop into thin air.

"Wh-wh-what do y-you w-want?" His voice was shaking as bad as she was. She was willing to bargain, but if he so much as touched her...

She watched as his curious smile morphed into a smirk. He knew. He knew her secret!

And this is where we left off. Continuing!

She watched in horror as he pointed an accusing finger at her."You are afraid of boys!" He said it mirthfully as if it was a joke. She just stared at his pointing finger.\

Her life as she knew it was over. _Someone, please kill me now._ She thought to herself.

He pulled away from her, only giving her a tiny bit of relief. She was able to breathe steadily again.

"Well." He started, rocking back and forth on his toes."This will make it easier!"

Hinata had a bad feeling about this. "M-m-make what easier?" And when he grinned at her she wasn't sure she wanted to know anymore.

"To blackmail you of course."

Her breathing completely stopped. And just like that Hyuga Hinata, a very refined and composed person, fainted. Though, she wished she could have died instead.

* * *

 _Alright, so I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make it shorter so it'd be easier to read after getting that review with the suggestion. I have a hard time doing that because there's so much information and I get real detailed. But if it's hard to read,then I'll limit it. So, I'm probably going to right about 2,000 words or more per chapter. That'll probably stretch out this story more so I don't mind!_

 _I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter, there's more on the way! So review, follow and favorite! I love to hear what you guys think and how you feel about the chapter and the direction the story went in. Thank you!_

 _Till next time my fellow NaruHina shippers!_

 **Little Miss Kairi out!**


	3. What He Wants

**What He Wants**

* * *

When she woke up, she was in her bed covered with her white blankets. She was confused, disoriented. There was a constant loud ringing in her head. No, not her head, it was her alarm clock. She quickly shut it off with a light tap of her fingers.

This was probably the first time that she actually woke up to the alarm clock. Usually, she was awake before it and just laid in bed for a rest. She scratched the back of her head and was surprised to find that her fingers felt her hair instead of her silk scarf wrap. She frowned.

The girl immediately got up and went over to her vanity desk, and she nearly had a heart attack when she saw her reflection. She had a serious case of bedhead. Her hair was fuzzier and more _up_ than it should be. And even when she didn't sleep with a scarf her hair never ended up this crazy!

How could this have happened? She always prepared herself for bed properly and yesterday should have been no different! Wait, yesterday!

And it all came rushing back to her with a big smack in the face.

A curtain of blond hiding his eyes, an evil smirk and _"It'll make it easier to blackmail you."_ And then she had fainted. But what happened after that? She just remembered bits and pieces.

Walking home in a daze, skipping dinner, getting into her pajamas and falling into bed, trying so hard to forget. Willing it to be a dream.

And maybe it _was_ a dream. The memories were hazy and dark around the edges. But maybe it was like that to her because she was having a difficult time breathing and staying focused at the time.

Yes, that was it. She would believe it was a dream. For if it wasn't, her world would be taking a turn for the worst , maybe even its end.

She forced a smile to comfort herself. With a sigh, she quickly combed her hair and quickly got dressed for school after a shower. Yes, she usually took baths, but she was in a bit of a hurry this morning.

When she made it to the dining room, as expected her father, Hiashi, and little sister ,Hanabi, were already eating. She approached the table but then halted when she saw her father.

"Gah!" Maybe her world really was coming to an end.

Hiashi, her father, the man who always grumbled about technology, who never used it much, who was bad at using it, was using a tablet at the breakfast table. What in the world was going on here?

"F-father! Y-you're using a t-tablet?" Hinata slowly made her way to her seat. She looked at the man suspiciously.

Hanabi grinned at he sister."I know! Isn't great!"

Of course Hanabi was happy about this. She had been trying to get their father to use more advance tech since forever. "Y-yeah." Hinata agreed and sighed, to calm herself down. The girl was being to jittery, ever since she remembered what happened yester- , no her dream. It was a dream.

Hiashi looked up from his tablet."Don't get used to it. This is only for work." He grumbled."Ah, why did it zoom in?"

Hanabi rolled her eyes,"Because you're using two fingers. Just use one."

Hinata watched as her sister tried to teach their father how to work the device to no avail. Their father was stubborn. She sighed.

"Enough of that." Hiashi looked at Hinata."Is anything going on with you?"

"Yeah." Hanabi turned to her as well. There was no mistaking the curiosity mixed with concern in her sister's eyes."You were totally out of when you came home. You skipped dinner too."

Hinata blinked, and looked down at her breakfast, which was an omelet. It was made just the way she liked it, cooked, but a little runny with cheddar cheese and a few veggies inside. But, she didn't really feel like eating it.

She was just a ball of nerves. Even though she kept telling herself what happened yesterday was a dream, she knew, she knew it wasn't. And it was frustrating! How did she get herself in this situation?

With a sigh, she looked back to her family and shook her head."Nothing, nothing at all." She lied, ever so easily.

Though, she liked sharing things with Hanabi, especially her problems. Her youngster always knew how to solve them. Maybe it was shameful to rely on you're sister like that, but she didn't care. And she never really told her father any of her problems. It was unnecessary.

But her secret, the one that the Namikaze boy had figured out, even they didn't know about it. Sometimes they were suspicious of her behaviour, but they could never pin point what it was. So, it amazed her that he learned about it in just a week while her family hadn't in years.

"As long as you're not pregnant." Her father grunted and looked back down at his.

Hinata resisted the urge to roll her eyes, but Hanabi did so freely. She truly admired her little sister. She was kind, smart and brave, never really being afraid of what people thought of her and still being popular!

"Of course not. She's never even had a boyfriend. Which is a waste really. She's too pretty."

She was blushing at Hanabi's comment as she pushed her plate away and stood up."I'll be leaving first." And she didn't look back until she was out the door.

~ . ~

To be honest, Hinata didn't know what to expect. If he just left her after she fainted yesterday without explaining himself, she wondered if he would bother her today? But of course he would! He said he wanted to use he fragile secret against her? But what for exactly?

Whatever it was, she would stand strong... to the best of her abilities. It was frustrating even just thing about it. She tried not to fear the worst. And told herself more than once not to panic, not be nervous at the very least.

But she was nervous, so very nervous, what if he jumped out of nowhere surprising her like yesterday?

To her great surprise, she didn't even see him on her walk to school. He wasn't the cherry blossom orchard, nor the entrance at the school gates. He was however, in his seat behind her,looking out the window. He didn't even bother looking at her when she entered.

To say she was confused would be an understatement, she was completely lost. She knew what happened yesterday was real. So, why didn't he approach her or talk to her? He just acted the same as always.

"Hinata-princess!"

Her head whipped around to find Ino waving her over. She forced a smile and cautiously made her way into her seat. She felt even more uncomfortable sitting in front of him than usual. She was terrified, but she masked it well. Ino nor Sakura would suspect a thing.

"Good morning." She greeted her friends, turning in her seat to face them.

Sakura grinned at her and began to speak, but was immediately cut off by Ino."This is the first time you're behind on coming to school."

Her smile, though it was fake, faltered a little."Yeah, I slept in.." And she totally lagged behind on her walk. Her thoughts were consumed with worry because of a certain blonde boy.

Wondering if he was listening in, she took a quick glance at him with just her was still staring out the window. It made her curious...Was he joking? About blackmailing her, because if he wasn't, he had a pretty tight grip on her. She didn't want anyone knowing about her, uh, condition.

Anyway, she felt more at ease with the possibility of it being a joke.

" _You_ slept in?" Ino asked, skeptically. It was true, Hinata always had her life in order. Well, at least until today.

"Maybe she was really tired," Sakura suggested.

Ino gave her this look to say that was just to say the could have been the stupidest thing she could say."That is not the reason."

"It is, actually," Hinata told her, saving Sakura from Ino's viscous looks and glares. She really did feel bad for the girl sometimes, but at the same time, there wasn't much she could do about it. Sakura followed Ino around like a puppy.

"Really? We-" Before Ino could continue, Hinata was saved by the bell, literally.

Everyone silenced and sat at in their seats correctly. Hinata didn't have to hurry to set her desk up, it would be about five to seven minutes before Mr. Hatake came in. Yes, even after the first day of school he was always late. The class sort of got used to it. But he was still a somewhat strict teacher, if he came in and saw the class was still talking and playing around, there would be repercussions.

He still had a strong hold on his classroom. And he taught very well too. That was to be expected of course. Anyway, the point was that even though he was late, he was a respectable teacher.

Mr. Hatake walked through the door exactly five minutes after the bell,"Sorry I'm late class." He smiled underneath his mask. He attempted to pull it up farther and walked to stand in front of his desk. He had said that line every day, another thing everyone had gotten used to.

"Let's take attendance, shall we?" He lifted up a clipboard and read off name after name in alphabetical order, with a student always replying 'present' or 'here'. Every seat was filled, meaning everyone was here.

Once he finished, he set down his clipboard. With a long sigh, he looked up back the classroom."It's been a week now. And it's time we have a class representative." He paused."Any volunteers?"

No one was eager to take such an important job, and it was obvious by Mr. Hatake's face he knew this. If no one stepped up Hinata knew she would have to. She was the class representative for her first year.

"No one?" Mr. Hatake asked, waiting another moment.

Hinata was just about to raise her hand when she heard the sound of the Namikaze kid standing up."I'll do it." He said, taking Hinata by surprise.

The rest of the class applauded him. They were grateful, grateful it wasn't them that is. Of course they still all hated Namikaze Naruto it showed in their eyes. They only showed good spirit because was around and they didn't went to be chosen themselves.

Mr. Hatake looked hesitant, and he had every right to be. Namikaze wasn't exactly an ideal class representative. He could barely keep up with his own homework yet alone work to do with the class.

He looked for someone else to stand, but no one did. They all knew that the blonde class idiot was not made for the job. But they were looking forward to him to fail, just another for them to mess with him.

"Okay, then step forward.." Mr. Hatake said, sounding tired., He turned around to write down Namikaze Naruto as the class representative on the board. And Namikaze made his way to the front of the class a bit too happily.

Turning around the teacher spoke again."Now we just need a class representative assistant." By the tone of his voice, it was absolutely necessary for the sake of the class. They could not leave the Namikaze kid by himself."Anyone?"

Everyone was silent. The idea of working with Namikaze was worst than the being the class rep by a long shot. No one wanted to be caught with him. Hinata would have volunteered if she still wasn't so afraid of him. So, they left him hanging.

"In that case, I guess I'll have to-"

"Can I choose?" Interjected Namikaze, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his hoodie.

MR. Hatake sighed and shrugged his shoulders."Sure, why not."

The class gave a 'do not pick me or else' look. But he didn't think as he lifted his arm up and pointed at her."I choose Hyuga Hinata." And by the sly smirk on his face, she knew he was gonna keep good on his words.

She gulped. He had planned this,she could feel it.

"Good choice." Mr. Hatake finally looked happy. And indeed she was a good choice."Come forward, Ms. Hyuga."

Hinata wished she could just faint again, but she had too much pride to do that in front of the whole she stood up and gracefully walked over,keeping a notable distance from Namikaze Naruto.

"Then it's decided. You two will work together every day after school. This job will make you two very close." said as he wrote down the knew information on the board.

Namikaze Naruto grinned."Very close,eh? I like the sound of that." He mumbled, but Hinata could have heard it from a mile away.

~ .~

They would be alone. And as usual Ino nor Sakura didn't bother to wait for her. But the again, she didn't ask them too, she never did. The only time they waited for her was when they all planned to gout after school. Even that would be gone now, because she was the class representative _assistant_. Who's the class representative you ask?

It was the boy sitting a desk away from her to her right. He was a natural blonde with long hair that covered his eyes and most of his face save for his mouth and nose. He was tall though, taller than her by a long shot. But he was definitely not stylish, his school uniform was obviously too big on him and besides that he was violating the school dress code by wearing a black and obviously old hoodie.

But there homeroom teacher didn't seem to notice this. In fact he didn't seem to even notice the heavy atmosphere in the air as he went through his desk preparing their tasks for their new job. He didn't notice how they had an empty desk between them as they sat in the front. He didn't notice how Hinata tensed, feeling completely overrun by nerves. He was either clueless or just didn't care, she was going for the latter.

Mr. Hatake was very observant, not as observant as Namikaze but observant non the last. Though, he always had this look that said 'so, what?'. Some students found it irritating others didn't care. Hinata was one that wasn't irritated by it, but was a bit concerned. Did that mean he didn't care? Because she could really use a teacher who cared right now!

Was he really going to make her work with-with _him_! She turned her head to take a look at him and saw he was staring at her. Quickly turning back around she placed a hand over her racing heart and told herself to calm down.

"Okay." Mr. Hatake said slowly as he moved over to them. He stopped at the desk in between them and stared for a minute. Probably wondering why they sat that far apart. But he didn't comment on it. "Here is your first task as the class reps." He set down a large stack of papers and beside it a paper or two.

Honata glanced at Namikaze, but he never reached for the papers. She frowned slightly when he was looking at her expectantly and was only worse when their teacher did the same. With a sigh, she got up and picked up one of the papers. And was baffled when she saw what it was.

"Um, Mr. Hatake?" Looking up at her teacher, he was already getting prepared to leave. Which made her uneasy.

He didn't face her and answered with a."Hmm?"

"This is..." She cleared her throat and spoke a little more loudly."This is homework that's been turned in."

Namikaze looked just as surprised, he stood up and moved to grab a sheet himself. She made sure to take a step or two away when he was too close for comfort. Which wasn't that close in reality. But she was too conscious of him.

"Hey, she's right!" He looked back up at Mr. Hatake."What's this about?"

Their teacher sighed as if it was too much of a bother to explain."It's simple really. You see those papers beside it." Hinata picked them up."Those are answer sheets to the homework."

Namikaze still looked confused, but Hinata put two and two together easily."We're grading papers as our first job!" She asked, finding this too be just ridiculous. But Mr. Hatake gave his signature 'so, what?' look.

"Think of it as a trust exercise." He mumbled as he checked his watch."We'll talk more tomorrow,which is your deadline by the way."

Hinata stared at him, their teacher dumping his work on them? Just great. Just fantastic. By the time she found her voice from the shock,he was already gone."W-wait."

For a moment she forgot that Namikaze was still in the room. Not for long. He had split the stack and took his half."You can do the other half."He said ever so casually.

To be honest, this was the most she ever saw him talk. Well, besides yesterday. No,he didn't talk much then either,but he didn't have to. She was having a panic attack at the time. But that wasn't the point.

The point was that he was at ease. Very relaxed. And that put her on edge. She wanted to leave this room and never face him again. But she knew she had to talk to him. Work things out. Or at least as much as she could.

Hesitantly she grabbed her stack and moved to the opposite side of the room. She'd have to confront her ridiculous teacher later, either that or go to the school staff office. Right now, she had to confront the problem at hand.

"How will be able to share the answer sheet if you're on the other side of the room?" He asked, wearing an amused smile as he looked at her, chin in his palm.

Hinata made a face like she just swallowed something sour. He was right, but she didn't need an answer sheet. Sure, it would take longer, but she didn't want to be near him. Especially since she was planning on addressing what was important. Keeping her distance would make her her a little more comfortable to speak.

"I'm fine." She cleared her throat and took a seat to prove her point. After taking a deep breath she spoke again."I think we both know what we really want to talk about." She had to pat herself on the back later for not stuttering or letting her voice shake.

"True. I-"

"First of all, I don't care if you're blackmailing me. I _will_ _not_ let you use my body in any way you want. If that's what you want then go ahead tell the whole school!" Hinata raised her voice unconsciously. And she meant every word, though she'd have to plan a transfer before he did so.

She glared at him, making sure her message got across loud and clear.

"Chill, will you?" His response was not one she was expecting."Listen, _Princess_." The way he said it was mocking, she was used to it being said in an adoring and admiring way. "Not everyone you meet wants to bang you."

A feverish blush bloomed on her face in embarrassment. "I-um-you." She sputtered."T-then what do you want?"

"You're a little more conceited than I thought. That's okay."

"I said what-what do you want?" She balled her fist, feeling more embarrassed as he spoke.

He sighed."Your experience. Your skills. Your _help_."

"What do you mean by that?" She asked, truly confused.

"It's simple really." He took a breath."I want you to make me popular. I want you to help me make my _dream_ come true."

She dumbfounded. "Huh?" There was nothing else she could find what to say. His dream? The one that everyone used as an excuse to hate him? The one about having this whole school worship him or something?

"I want you to make me popular." He simply repeated, tilting his head a little as he watched her.

 _Oh god._ Hinata thought. _Why me?_

* * *

 _I thought should say this now. Um, I got this really horrible comment from a Hinata hater, **obviously**. It said guest, and it was obvious he commented on two of my stories. Hating on Hinata, complimenting Sakura (because I guess I made her look bad), calling me vulgar names and told me to kill myself. _

_I laughed._

 _Because Sakura is one of my most favorite female Naruto characters, I still love our beautiful Hina-chan though, don't get me wrong. Can't I love them both?_

 _Anyway, I don't like people saying such vulgar an unnecessarily mean things on my stories, or anyone else stories for that matter! And if you feel I'm doing Sakura wrong, I'm sorry, I'm just doing this for plot purposes. So, as my mom always says if you don't have anything nice(Not mean) to say, don't say anything at all. Thank you._

 _Another thing, I guess everyone really does want long chapters, lol! So, I guess I'll go for about 3,000 words or over. In any case, I suppose that will mean I'll be bit little slower in updates._

 _So, guys follow , favorite and most of all review!_

 _Little Miss Kairi out ~!_


	4. What She Must Change

**What She Must Change**

* * *

 _Oh god._ Hinata thought. _Why me?_

What had she done to ever deserve this. To be blackmailed with an impossible task to complete. Making Namikaze Naruto the biggest loser and most hated kid in school the exact opposite would be impossible.

Feeling a little headache coming, she pressed two fingers to her temple and looked back at her blackmailer. Anyone could tell he was serious even if much of his face wasn't showing. It was the way he held himself that made it obvious. His shoulders were set in determination and his mouth in a line.

With a gulp she spoke up. "Wha-why me? You could have chose someone else! Ino, Sakura even!"

Namikaze shook his head."You were the best option. I knew it from the moment I saw you. You are the school's favorite. Besides I maybe-sort of hate Ino. And Sakura seems like a slave." There was no maybe-sort of. He just did.

He was pretty accurate still. He had every reason to hate Ino, and Sakura was bossed around _by_ Ino. Not to mention everyone did in fact love Hinata the most."Okay okay, then what about-"

"No, thank you. I don't have time. Plus, that would mean I'd have to watch this person and find something to force them to help me."

"Do you have to blackmail? You could have just asked."

"And you would have helped me if I did? Or anyone else for that matter." He rolled his eyes. And she knew he was right."Everyone either mocks me or avoids me. And you avoid me."

"I don't think I'm the one to help you." She protested.

"Well, I think you are. And that's what matters."

She looked him up and down. How was she supposed to make _him_ popular? "This would be a life long project."

"Then you better get started."

She huffed and looked down at her papers. Maybe she could transfer anyway. But looking at how determined he was almost made her _want_ to help him. He didn't do anything deserving hatred from anyone else. And Ino was the one who spread those rumors.

Wait, Those rumors. Wasn't there one about him blackmailing people? She glanced at him cautiously.

"About those rumors...Are they true?"She inquired carefully. Not that she believed them now, she was just suspicious.

He was quiet and tensed a bit."I...I suppose they have some truth to them."

"How-how so?" She questioned, panicking a little inside.

Instead of elaborating, he asked."Why are you afraid of boys?"

Hinata stiffened and shook her head. The girl had never told anyone that story, and neither did she ever want to. Especially to him, she barely knew him. And he'd probably use it against her as well. "It's not important."

"Then there's your answer. It's not important and it doesn't matter."

It seemed that was the end of that. And maybe she should have been even more worried after hearing him say that. But looking at him, she still felt the same about it. That it was too horrible to be true, but still... He was obviously hiding something.

She chewed the corner of her bottom, observing him as he went through his stack of papers. What to do? He was pushing the issue of her helping him at the moment. Through this whole conversation he was completely at ease.

"So, if I don't help you you're going to tell everyone about my,um, condition?"

"Yep."

"Ha. Then I have really no choice do I?" Hinata pouted."Unless, you would be a kind gentleman and let it go."

He laughed. Like really laughed. she could see the thought to him was so incredibly silly. So much so it made her feel stupid. And only her father and sister ever made her feel that way.

She had to admit, it was pretty silly to ask. But was desperate. And now she knew she had to give in.

"Fine." She muttered, looking away in some form of defiance.

"Really?" He asked, sounding not surprised but...grateful? "Okay! I'm pumped! When do we start?"

Hinata's wheels were already turning. The both of them being class reps gave them a good excuse to be around one another with out raising suspicions. She didn't want anyone thinking that they were something more. Though, she was sure they didn't need to be together so much for this.

"We'll start tomorrow after school."

"Okay!" He smirked.

Watching him now, seeing him now, it felt impossible he was the same person that stuck to the shadows. This guy was, she couldn't find the words for him just yer, but he definitely different from what she or anyone else originally thought.

"Oh sweet! I found my paper, now I can change the answers and get an actually decent grade."

"Hey!" Hinata stood up from her seat."You better not. Remember this is a trust exercise." He didn't look convinced."Besides he will notice."

"I guess you're right. You really are a goody two shoes, huh?"

"If it gets me passing grades, yes. You should try to win over your teachers too, Namikaze."

"Heh. " He tilted his head to the side as if pondering something."Naruto, please."

"Y-you want me to call you by your first name?"

"Sure, we're going to be working together for a little while, right? So, then I'll call you Hinata. Any objections?"

"I-I never gave you permission to c-call me by my first n-name."

He began to stand up to approach her, she immediately pulled her hands up in defense as if it would keep him away."O-okay, go ahead. Just d-don't come near me."

He smiled, satisfied."You give in rather easily. I'll keep that in mind."

"J-just don't call m-me that in front of others."

"Deal."

~ . ~

The following day Hinata considered staying in bed and calling in sick. It would be one way to escape Nami-Naruto for a day. She could just stay at home and laze around the house. But she knew this wouldn't work. Her father would know she wasn't sick and he never liked her lazing around at all. Not to mention even if she was sick he would send her to school anyway with a medical mask over her mouth and nose.

So, it was inevitable. She found herself going through the same routine and on her way to school wondering, how in the world would she make Naruto _popular_? It was just impossible. Just impossible. There were too many obstacles in his way. Ino being one of them.

Hinata never could say she hated Ino, annoyed yes. But hated, never. Not until now. She hated her for being the greatest obstacle in her way to make Naruto loved by the others. Why did that blonde have to spread those rumors and make him look bad? Okay, she knew why she did it. But she didn't have to! The girl ruined his reputation in the school in just one day.

And now, the whole school would be hard to persuade. Unless, sh herself put a few words in. But it wouldn't work unless she tweaked Naruto a bit, to show his best qualities and such. She learned over the years people like the genuine over fake. And Hinata was genuine. And even Ino was genuine to _some_ point. The girldidn't care what people thought about her, she did what she wanted when she wanted. She had control.

That's right, even though Hinata was the most loved, Ino had the most control. How? Hinata had no idea. And she wasn't to interested either. She didn't want to control people, she was fine with where she stood.

Now, what were Naruto's greatest qualities? His honesty was certainly one of them. But, how could she bright out any quality if he always stick to shadows and only talked if someone talked to him, which was rarely unless they were mocking him. And he didn't respond to their insults.

Then there was he is sense of style. He needed a new school uniform obviously. And that hoodie needed to go. But he was so attached to it, she couldn't help but wonder if there was story to behind it. He also needed a haircut. She hadn't been able to see his eyes before. She need to know his best physical features as well.

There was just a lot to be done if this was ever going to work.

But, it was the next day when the unexpected happened. The first exciting thing that happened since the start of school, at least for the others. Hinata had plenty of exciting and unpleasant things that happened just yesterday and the day before that, though they didn't know, she kept it to herself after all/

It all went down at PE. They were all gathered in the gym waiting for Mr. Gai.

Today was going to be exciting, they were going to play their first volley ball game. Not to mention PE had been canceled for the last class of the day because Mr. Gai would be late. Which was strange in itself.

In most schools the boys and girls didn't take PE together, but Konoha wasn't like that. The boys and girls mixed in many subjects and activities. Sometimes, Hinata considered Konoha to be closer to an American school.

Anyway, they were all stretching and chatting within their friend groups. Naruto, did not have a group, no one wanted to hang around him, therefore, he just stretched silently.

"I swear." Ino said, getting down to work on her hamstrings."If I get put on the same team as Namikaze, _I'll_ be the one transferring."

Sakura giggled at Ino's joke, Hinata only smiled a little and responded."He's not that bad." That's the only thing she could think of to say. Because he was blackmailing her, and she did have to make him look good, somehow.

Ino rolled her eyes, and Sakura took this as a cue to say something herself. "Hinata, you're too nice. That's why he chose you as his assistant." She looked at Ino from the corner of her eyes for any sign of approval. And Hinata had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at her friends.

"Sakura's right."

Sakura grinned.

"For once."

Her grin faltered, just a little. It was like Ino had to put the girl down every time she complimented her. Just to teach her her place. But there was no need, the girl practically worshiped the ground she walked on.

"Why does he always wear that hoodie?" She stopped to look at him and the other two followed suit.

The hoodie boy was now just standing there with his hands in his pockets. He was kicking invisible dirt on the wood floor. He looked so pitiful. Then he lifted his head, and his head turned in their direction, or more like in Hinata's. She could see him smiling a little.

"Eww, he's looking our way." Ino feigned a shiver and Sakura hid behind her back.

This time Hinata did roll her eyes. "You guys are too much." But, she had to admit she was unsettled with his gaze on her. But she had to put up a front, especially since Sakura and Ino were just being plain mean.

Ino moved a step forward and placed a hand on her shoulder."Might wanna switch out your bloomers with your track pants. Who knows what's going through his mind."

The Hyuga resisted the urge to scoff, he wasn't that type of guy. He even admitted that he didn't want to 'bang her'. When she looked back to Naruto, he was looking back down at the floor completely bored, as usual.

"Ha ha. Anyway, we'd be lucky to be on his team. He's the best student when it comes to physical activity." Hey, that's right! He was! That was a great quality of his. He could bring it out in this game.

"When it comes to physical activity, not when it comes to brain activity."

"Which means he doesn't think." Sakura piped.

"Exactly." Ino nodded her head, circling her."Which also means, he might ruin our chances by getting in our way."

Hinata sighed, there was no getting through to these two. They were determined to look down and pick on him. She opened her mouth to say 'give him a chance' or something on those lines.

Then,"Ino, are you over hear yapping more nonsense again?" Nara Shikamaru asked, squinting his eyes at the girl. Hinata eeped and move several steps away, but none of them noticed. Shikamaru was too focused on Ino and Ino was focused on him and Sakura was focused on them both, watching intently as if she was taking down notes with her eyes.

Ino smirked, and smoothed a wrinkle on his shirt."No, just the truth." Her voice was as syrupy as honey.

Hinata knew where this was going next. And she was almost sad to be right. They started arguing, but no one paid any attention save for Naruto. He wouldn't understand. Ino and Shikamaru had been in an on and off relationship since day one. It was annoying to say the least. Ino said so herself, but she knew in reality she liked it. It was supposed to be her romantic drama. Sakura sure as hell did.

And everyone else thought they were meant to be, like a cranky old annoying couple. They never said this a loud, Ino would have killed them for describing her relationship as such. Honestly, Hinata wasn't even sure if Ino even liked him-liked him, the same about Shikamaru. It just seemed like the blonde was holding on for him for some reason, a reason Hinata didn't know about.

However, she knew she liked Shikamaru, as a friend of course. Even though she barely talked to him or was near him. She liked that he was smart and calm in most situations. Ino often called him a 'lazy ass', which was one thing that the girl said that was proved to be true. He was always sleeping.

"You are so annoying. That new kid is definitely better than you by a long shot." Shikamaru groaned.

Ino frowned, something that did not compliment her face."How dare you! He's so stupid!"

"Yeah, well, so are you."

"Urg, I'm serious! You know, I heard he was held back a year just like whats-her-face." She placed both hands on her hips, and smirked as if she was proud that she knew this.

"How do I know you didn't make that up?"

 _Good point_ , Hinata thought. But never did the words escape from her mouth.

"You think I'm lying!" She placed a hand on her chest and leaned forward.

They all stared, and that made her angrier.

"I'm sure you're right Ino!" Sakura quickly jumped in.

But Ino was already turning away and moved a few steps toward the hoodied boy."Hey, Naruto!" You heard right, she called him by his first name without permission. It was incredibly rude, but no one said anything about, no one could.

Said boy, looked up at her silently.

"Didn't you get held back a year?"

Everyone turned their heads to watch the two. No one expected him to answer, like usual he would stay silent.

"No."

Shock was written on everyone's face. He actually answered?

Ino wasn't surprised, or maybe she was, either way she didn't look fazed."Then why are you so stupid?"

Ouch. Hinata frowned at Ino's comment.

"I don't study." He shrugged his shoulders.

Everyone snickered.

And then, _Whats-her face_ strutted in to the room. Her names was Kazetani Temari. She was the one Ino previously mentioned, you know, the one that got held back a year. The woman was a blonde too, and she pretty. But, she was tall, like taller than average height, taller than most of the boys. And like Ino, she always spoke her mind, and unlike Ino she minded her own business and was respectful.

And Ino _hated_ her.

"Oh my gosh. The Amazon is back." She whistled.

Amazon. That was her nickname that Ino personally gave her.

Temari was Ino's biggest victim, always being tormented by her. But she was also the only victim that fought back. Hinata had a strong sense of respect for her.

And then she found herself looking back to Naruto. But he was not looking back at her. He was staring at Temari. She wondered why though.

Temaris simply rolled her eyes at Ino and turned away. Anyone could see that the girl was trying to avoid trouble. Last year she had got suspended because of her disputes with Ino. "I'm too tired to play around with you today, Yamanaka."

"Oh come on." Ino said teasingly as she approached her. She reached out to grab her hair, but Temari caught her wrist in a tight hold. They glared at one another. And the air in the room was tense, everyone remained quiet.

They began their usual bickering. Insults rolled off their tongues so fast it looked natural. Finally, Ino said something that struck a nerve in Temari. Something about her family.

And then, it was an all out brawl between the two. Ino threw the first slap and Temari _punched_ her. Everyone was in a panic, Shikamaru just watched, dumbfounded. Sakura ran over to try and save Ino, because it was clear that Temari was winning. Everyone else just watched worriedly and Hinata didn't know what to do.

"Yeah, kick her ass!"

The voice of someone cheering caught everyone's attention. How could anyone cheer at this? Even the two blondes stopped mid fight to find this person. Who was he cheering for anyway?

Namikaze Naruto was the one who had cheered. He stopped when he realized he caught everyone's attention."What?"

Hinata shook her head at him, willing him to look at her. She knew exactly which person who he was cheering for. It wasn't Ino.

And so, when Mr. Gai came in and heard the whole story, which was just Ino's version. Temari and Naruto had to run laps after school. Temari for attacking 'defenseless' Ino and Naruto for 'setting up' the fight. It was amazing how Ino could make something up so fast and even more fascinating how easily everyone else backed her up. All save for Hinata and Shikamaru of course.

Again, they were not up to a good start.

* * *

 _I'm so glad you guys understand about this person. But enough about him. This chapter was fun to write. Temari won't show up for a while after this chapter. But she is important._

 _And people keep asking why Hinata's afraiss of boys? And Narhina is right, Naruto's hoodie does have a background story. Practically everything does._

 _Hoped you guys liked this chap! Remember to **review** and favorite!_

 _Little Miss Kairi~!_


	5. Lesson Number One

**Lesson Number One**

* * *

"That was so unfair." Hinata sighed, completely agitated. She was more upset about it than seemed to have quietly accepted it all. But Hinata just couldn't. Not only was it unfair but it was the exact opposite of helpful! Sure, everyone else in the gym knew what really happened, but the anyone else who wasn't there thought it was the truth. And now, the one teacher who really really liked Naruto was upset with him!

It was frustrating. And she had never been actually anything close to frustrated since she started high school. Her life had been rather composed and average, nothing exciting for her. Nothing that made her feel this strongly about something. And now she was-she was just unhappy! Not angry, but very very unhappy. Ino, once again made her job harder. But she wasn't the only one at fault.

"Why did you have to cheer, huh?" She questioned him, watching as he massaged his legs, not bothering to look her in the face.

Naruto sighed, tired. And he had every reason to be. He had just got done running laps with Temari. He had ran more though, she had no idea how that ended up happening. But it did. And now they were sitting in alone in their homeroom class. Everyone else had already gone home. So, it was just the two of them.

Hinata stood in front of the desk he was seated in, keeping a safe distance about three feet away. She stood there with crossed arms, trying her best to look stern. But she felt silly because he was too busy working on his legs.

"Uh..." He was slow to answer. After a second or two he looked up at her."I don't know. It was on an impulse."

Hinata sighed and shook her head at him, she felt like an adult scolding it's chill."Naruto, you don't promote fighting. People will really stat to think your gangster if you do."

Naruto frowned,"But I'm not." He said, matter-of-factly.

"I know that. But they don't." Neither do they care either. But she wasn't going to say that a loud. Plus, he seemed to know that already.

He continued to frown, and looked away, outside the window. It was cloudy outside, and rather gloomy. It looked as if it might rain, but there was nothing about when she checked online. They said it would just be cloudy. And she was really hoping it wouldn't rain, she hadn't bothered to bring an umbrella.

Naruto was more interested with the outside than facing Hinata and talking about their problem at hand. She could see he was just a bit frustrated with the fact that they thought of him as a violent person who insensibly hurt people. Even though Hinata had only been literally talking to him for only two to three days now, she knew him more than anyone else she was sure.

It wasn't much, but she knew more than them. Because she was actually talking to him, and watched him. She watched him before, but that didn't matter.

Hinata relaxed a bit and uncrossed her arms, she didn't want to upset him. Not because she was afraid of what he'd do, but because she didn't like making others unhappy. "Naruto?" It still felt strange calling him by his first name so suddenly, but she did like it.

The blonde turned his gaze away from the window and back to her."Yeah?"

She smiled a tiny bit to cheer him up. People liked being smiled upon, she knew especially from experience. Whenever she smiled at a person, they cheered up to the point they smiled back. Though, she was smiled upon so much, even from people she was just passing by, that it was a weird for her. The only time it sincerely made her feel good was when her family smiled at her. And her father rarely ever smiled.

Naruto didn't smile back, but it was clear to see he was less upset. "Okay." Was all he said and leaned back in his seat, hands in pockets."So, to the main reason we've gathered."

"To talk about you and you're very special dream." She replied, moving away to stand behind teachers desk."I know I said it was impossible." She paused, and he leaned in excited to hear what she had to say."And I still think it is."

Naruto looked defeated at her words, shoulders slumped, head hung and all. He remained quiet, so Hinata continued."But, that doesn't mean we can't try. I'll think of it as a project."

"A project?"

"Yes." Hinata nodded her head and placed her hands on the desk."Like, an assignment or a mission. And if I complete it, I'll be rewarded."

"Yeah and your reward will be a promise of me being forever silent of your secret." He said it so cheerily Hinata almost forgot that that was the whole reason she was doing it. How strange it was that she nearly forgot she was being forced by this smiling boy.

She gave another nod,"Uh-huh." She said slowly.

He pulled his legs up on his seat and sat Indian style with his hands still on his legs."Then how do we do it? How do we make me popular." He was leaning in again, clearly excited.

"It's not that simple." Hinata placed her hands behind he back and looked at him. She usually had a hard time looking a boy in the face even from a distance, but it was easy with Naruto. Mainly because she couldn't see his eyes, they were hidden by his messy hair. "Popularity is more than what you think. It-it's like a science! Yeah, a science, it has fundamentals."

"Uh, science? Fundamentals?" Naruto was lost. "Um, I'm not very good with science. Or any other subject for that matter."

Hinata held he hands up,"I know, I know. I'll explain in bits and pieces down the road. It's just the things that makes people popular, we'll take them step by step."

"Step by step, huh?" He set his elbows on his desk and his face in is hands. Hinata couldn't help but think he looked like a student. And he was interested in her teachings. She wished he was interested in actual school teachings though.

"Sure. But we'll get to that in a bit." She walked to the board and picked up a piece of chalk. "To be one of us, you have to know about us. Get it?" She says turning her body only a little to see him nod yes.

"Good. Because, Naruto." Saying his name was fun, nice even. If you asked why, she wouldn't be able to give you an exact reason. It was just one of those things that you can't put into words. "There are three levels of popularity in this school."

Now that really got Naruto's attention."Three levels? I don't understand. I thought all popular people were equal or something."

Hinata shook her head and began writing three words on the chalk board; Platinum, diamond and pearl. "These are the three levels of popularity. They all are worth a lot, but some more than others. They're basically ranks."

"Can we use something different to represent the ranks." Naruto asked. When she looked back at him, she could see he would be getting lost soon. "I don't really now how much these three are actually worth sooo."

"What should we use then?" She didn't argue and erased what she had on the board.

Naruto mused and lit up when he thought of it."How about food!"

"Food?" Hinata blinked her eyes."Okay, food it is." She shrugged her shoulders and began writing again."The highest rank is -"

"Ramen!" He interjected.

Hinata smiled a little, it was funny how excited he was now getting about this. "Okay, the highest rank is ramen. The middle rank is, um, sushi! And the bottom rank is rice."

When she looked back around, Naruto was nodding his head. So, she decided it was okay to start explaining. "Now, ramen being the highest rank, everyone loves it!"

"It's just too good."

"Yes, it's great, no one can touch it, it even has some form of power because everyone wants it. Consider Ino ramen."

His nose wrinkled at the name. So she quickly said."Or me. Then there's sushi! Everyone respects sushi, it's good, but not as good as ramen."

"That's for sure."

"Consider Shikamaru sushi. He has respect from everyone and gets along with people easily. But he's not completely adored." Once she got his nod, she continued."And last, but not least, rice. Rice is good, everyone has it with every meal. Not Everyone respects it because it's pretty common and not so great by itself. But it's still needed, because it's served with almost every meal. It's best that way.

"I'm guessing Sakura is rice."

"Correct"

He smirked proudly at her."I'm very observant. That's how I found out about you."

"Heh." She didn't know how to feel about that.

"But, rice, it's just not as tasty as ramen, huh?" He frowned. "Ramen is so good. How can rice even compare to it?"

Hinata concluded from this that Naruto had a love from ramen. Well, it did make sense. Every time at lunch she usually saw him eating a ramen cup. And so she chuckled at Naruto and she could feel his eyes on her.

"What?" He was obvious confused as to what was so funny.

"N-nothing."

"Right. Anyway, now that I know about you guys, how do I get on your level? I'm aiming for ramen and higher!"

"That will be extremely difficult. But we'll figure it out." She told him sweetly."Listen, Naruto, you have a lot of things that need to be changed if your going to get there."

"You want me to change who I am?" He sounded offended.

"No, yes. Not like that. Let me explain. I don't want to _change_ who you are. I want you to _show_ who you are."

The line his mouth formed said enough for her to know he didn't get it.

"What I'm trying to say is, it seems like your hiding."

"I'm not hiding!"

Hinata shook her head, disagreeing with him."You hide your face with you hair and hoodie. You stick to the shadows. You don't talk much. And you don't try to be friendly with anyone else. I count that as hiding."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" He sounded defeated.

"I want you to stop pretending like you don't exist unless someone notices you. I want you to talk with people, show them you're not a pitiful doom and gloom person. I want you to walk into this school with confidence. That's the first step, show everyone who you are, even if you look weird."

"I look weird?"

She nodded,"Well, you act weird. Which makes you look weird. We can work on appearances after you can do all that I told you."

"Okay." He stood up from his seat and waked a little closer to her. And Hinata took a few steps back. "What about my appearance that we'll need to work on?"

"U-um." She quickly calmed her nerves as he got stop closer. She needed a safe."You're uniform for one thing. It's a little big. And then your hair needs a cut." He grimaced at the idea of getting a haircut. And she wondered why."Also that hoodie-"

"It stays." His voice went firm, so very she was a little frightened at first. When he saw this, he relaxed a bit and added on a softer note."It's a special gift from a friend." And that's all he said about it.

Hinata nodded in understanding, but she didn't get it all the way. The air was suddenly awkward, and she was sure Naruto felt it as well.

"It's raining." He said, looking out the window.

"Huh?" Hinata frowned, confused and followed his gaze to the window. She gasped, scrambled over to it and placed her hands on the window sill. It wasn't just raining, it was pouring! And she didn't even bring an umbrella. For once she had wished she asked her father to pick her up from school. She could call him, but she knew he didn't like his schedule to be abruptly ruined.

"This is just wonderful." She sighed heavily, and turned around. When she did she bumped noses with Naruto.

He had came up behind her to stand beside her at the window to watch the rain. But he didn't make it far before she turned. And when their noses bumped...She was starring at him with wide eyes and her breathing hitched. He was surprised she didn't faint, she wasn't good when he was close so when they touched he had thought it's be worse.

Before anything else could happen, she screamed.

"Hinata I'm-"

 _Smack!_

Naruto stumbled back and held his cheek where she had slapped him. Luckily his hair and hoodie took most of the impact, so it wouldn't leave a mark. But it still hurt! He couldn't help but wonder if she had super strength.

"OW! What the hell was that for?"

Hinata placed a hand over her heart to try and stop it from beating so fast."Y-you know I'm afraid of boys!" She said accusingly.

"Yeah, but why'd you it me?!"

"Because, because you touched me!" Hinata felt as if she was going to cry. She felt embarrassed and sorry. And her eyes were glassy.

Seeing this, Naruto calmed down himself. He didn't look angry anymore. He never cared to know why Hinata was afraid of boys, but at this moment he was curious to know why.

"I'm s-sorry." She said again and wiped away unshed tears and stopped her voice from shaking."Y-you didn't know. But I just naturally react that way when a boy touches me."

"You react violently?"

"I-in self defense!"

"Oh." He rubbed his face soothingly."In that case, I suppose I'm the one who owes you an apology. I never knew that about you." He sincerely sounded sorry. So much so, Hinata instantly forgave him.

"I-it's okay. Lets j-just go home." She didn't wait for him and just walked through the door. Naruto followed behind, but kept a safe distance. For himself and her. When they were down where there lockers were, Hinata sighed looking out the exit door where it was still raining heavily.

"By the time I make it home, I'll be drenched." She mumbled to herself, leaning against the lockers.

Naruto looked at her and pursed his lips."Stay here, I'll be back!" And like that he was gone.

Hinata had no idea where he went off to in hurry. But she wasn't going to follow after him. She still felt embarrassed for hitting him like that. But it just came instinctively, she couldn't help it. He said it was okay and apologized himself, but she wondered if it was really?

She certainly didn't feel like it was okay. She never felt like hitting others was okay unless you had a good reason. And in her case she had no good reason. It was an accident. But accident or not, it didn't matter, that was just the way her body reacted.

And another thing, what if he somehow used that against her as well. To make her look bad or something. She didn't know. But she didn't like that he knew every bit of her condition now.

"I'm back!" She whipped around as Naruto ran toward her, but stopped about a foot or two away. Well, at least she didn't have to worry about him getting so close now."Here!" He held out a white umbrella with a wooden hook handle for her to take.

"Where'd you get this from?" She asked, flabbergasted. He just ran off and came beck with an umbrella.

He tilted his head a itand grinned a foxy grin which caused her to blush."I borrowed it from someone I know." What did that mean? "Just take it." He reached it out closer and she hesitantly took it.

"What about you?"

"Eh, I'll be okay. I got my hoodie after all." He said, shrugging a shoulder.

Hinata shook her head, it didn't feel right to just let him go off and get soaked. He might come back with a cold the next day. "No, no you take it! It's yours, or at least you know the person you borrowed it from." She held it back out for him.

Naruto pushed the umbrella back to her with a shake of his head."Hinata, please." It was the first time he had ever called her by her first name. And when he said it, it was different from the way Ino and Sakura said. His words carried warmth. " It's not mine anyway. Think of it as my way of apologizing for earlier."

"Bu-"

"If you don't accept it, you're not accepting my apology." He mocked a pout. And Hinata let a snicker escape from her, seeing that he smiled again.

"I just don't want you to go out there in the rain like that. There's gotta be another way." She conveyed her thoughts.

"Unless you want to share the umbrella?"

Hinata didn't mean to but she grimaced at the suggestion. He would be too close and what if they touched again.

"Yeah, I feel the same." He laughed."I rather not risk getting hit again. I don't know if you know, but girl, you hit hard."

Hinata once again found herself embarrassed. He always made her feel embarrassed. "I still think-"

Naruto suddenly kissed her forehead and before she could respond he pulled his hoodie over his head and dashed out into the rain.

She just stood there, not knowing what to do. He was so strange, why'd he do that? She felt a bit shaken. But she was at least happy he had the sense to run. The girl used her fingers to feel where his lips had touched her and blushed.

Shaking those thoughts away, she grabbed her bag and opened the umbrella. She looked at it in surprise. It was pretty with star patterns on the inside. But really caught her attention that someone had written;

 **Property of Namikaze Naruto. Do NOT touch.**

So, it was his umbrella! She looked at the door, but she knew it didn't matter. He was long gone by now. Since there was nothing else to do about it, she walked outside and headed home. Hoping, that Naruto didn't get sick.

.

.

.

The next day at school, Naruto entered the classroom wearing a medical mask. He had caught a cold.

* * *

I liked writing this chapter. It was fun. So, I hoped you guys enjoyed it too! I don't really have much to say here, so review and all that stuff!

Little Miss Kairi out~!


	6. Sickness That Blocks

**Sickness That Blocks**

* * *

Hinata was stirring the pot of rice porridge as her baby sister watched from beside her. With a sigh Hinata spoke. "You shouldn't have been playing in the rain like that." She scolded he sister.

"Aw, Sis, we were just having a little fun." Hanabi said, and sneezed into the crook of her arm. The younger Hyuga had indeed been playing in the rain the other day with her friends. And now she had a case of sneezing and runny nose. "Plus, it wasn't even out there that long. Father is always on time."

"Sure." She shook her head at her sister.

It was pouring a lot outside yesterday and then it started storming at night. Not to mention it was cold. It made her worry about Naruto. He didn't have a car ride nor an umbrella. She just hoped he wasn't sick.

"Taste this." Hinata pulled out the wooden spoon and blew on the congee to cool it down. Hanabi didn't hesitate to taste it when her she held it out for her. She, after all,was the one who asked Hinata to make it for her. The girl loved her cooking, but she was rarely ever able to cook for her.

"Mmm! It's so good!" Hanabi grinned up at her.

Hinata smiled pushed back some of her sister's hair from her face."Good. I'll pack you some for lunch and leave on the table for you take." She pointed out the kitchen with her spoon. Hanabi laughed at how silly she looked and ran off.

After her sister was out of sight, she did as she promised and packed her lunch. And since there was still some left over she packed herself some as well. "I'm leaving!" She called out to the house as she took off her apron and headed for school, carrying a white umbrella with her.

~.~

When Naruto came into the classroom wearing a medical mask over his face, Hinata almost jumped out of her seat. She knew it! She knew he would get sick! How? She didn't know, she just had a feeling. And usually her feelings were right. Like now.

Though, you couldn't see how horrible he looked because the mask covered the other half of his face that was usually visible. But he sure did move like he was about to fall over. It worried her more than she thought she should. His shoulders slumped, and his back hunched over.

"Mr. Namikaze? Not feeling well this morning?" Mr. Hatake asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He wasn't the only one that was watching him, the whole class was. Say what you will about Naruto, but everyone always seemed to watch him.

Naruto lifted up his head at Mr. Hatake and pulled down his mask to speak."I'm fine." He said. It was an obvious lie. Everyone knew it. His voice begged the differ. He sounded horrible!

Mr. Hatake stared at him for a second, frowning. Which was new, their teacher always wore a bored face."Since you aren't at your best, I'll excuse the fact your late. Why don't you have a seat. We're in the middle of attendance."

Naruto cleared his voice, probably trying to get rid of some mucus and then made his way to his seat. That, of course, was behind Hinata. Once he was seated again, he pulled the mask back over his face. She could hear him breathing through his mouth, and not at steady pace either.

Their teacher watched him for a little while longer, still wearing that frown. He seemed concerned, but he didn't say anything more and went back to checking attendance.

"Poor you. You have to sit with this sicko behind you." Ino leaned over and whispered, not quiet enough. Because anyone near the two could hear. Hinata was sure that was the point though. To not only make him feel bad but look bad. No one wanted their Hyuga-princess to suffer.

She noticed those who had heard, sent Naruto glares. And it was horrible! Instead of worrying about her, why not worry about him? Ugh, she was upset with Ino for even starting this. The girl wasn't really concerned about her anyway, her face showed an amused smile.

"Sorry about that. Hyuga-Princess."

The look of glares were now replaced with a look of surprise. Did Namikaze Naruto just talk without anyone speaking to him first? Not only that, he apologized. Hinata was pretty sure they didn't know what to think of it.

But she did, at first she thought he was trying to take her advice from yesterday. You know "putting himself out there". It wasn't just that though, she could hear the sincerity in his voice. He really did feel bad about it.

She was so consumed with worry and concern that she didn't care to think about what others thought when she turned to face him."Are you okay?" She whispered, leaning over the back of her chair a bit.

Naruto was clearly surprised by her actions along with others around them. Especially Ino. He pulled away, resting his back on the back of his seat."Yeah. Really." With the mask over his face, his hoarse voice was muffled, but barely.

"You sure?" Hinata frowned, giving him the 'you better not be lying' look that she had seen her father give many times. It looked pretty intense when you have Hyuga eyes.

He scratched the back of his head."Gee, I didn't know you cared so much." He teased, and that assured her even if it was just a little.

Her face softened."Good." Was all she said, and smiled a little.

A loud cough brought both of their attention back to Mr. Hatake. He gave them a look with his eyes and went back to taking attendance. At least he didn't call them out. Hinata turned back around and sat properly in her seat. She didn't bother to look Ino in the face when she asked. "What the hell was that?"

~ .~

Lunchtime. Ino was barraging her with questions about the way she acted towards Naruto. But Hinata didn't answer not one of them. She couldn't give a proper answer if she wanted anyway. All the other students just thought she did it out of kindness and nothing more. And she was fine with that.

So, she ignored Ino as she pulled out her lunch and looked outside the window into the courtyard. Sitting at a picnic table was Naruto. Even from where she sat, she could see he was shivering. It was cool outside, but not enough to feel so cold.

As usual, he was having instant ramen for lunch. Was ramen good for colds? She wasn't sure, but stew or soups was. Especially rice porridge. Wait, rice porridge. She looked down at her thermal that she was holding in her hands. It was still warm from this morning.

"I'll be back." She said, to no one in particular. The Hyuga had even forgot that Ino was there. She quickly wrapped back up lunch and moved out the door.

Ino called after her,"I was talking to you!" But, she didn't follow after her thank god. Otherwise that would have been bad.

Quickly making her way down the stairs, passing other students, she made it outside into the courtyard. He wasn't hard to spot, him wearing that hoodie and all. And he was the only one out here eating.

First she took a moment to catch her breath and make herself look composed again. Then, she walked up to him, holding her wrapped lunch to her chest. "Hey. She greeted, casually. It was so easy to just talk to him.

Naruto looked up at her and blinked."Hey?" He didn't bother hiding his confusion."What are you doing out here?"

She shrugged a shoulder, and stared down at his cup of ramen."I could ask you the same." Pursing her lips she looked back at him. He usually always ate in the classroom even if he did eat alone.

"Oh." This time he looked down at his cup ramen."I though it's best if I eat out here away from everyone else since I have a cold and all. I didn't want anyone else to catch it."

Hinata blinked, surprised by his answer. He decided to eat out here, where he was cold, and still shivering, for everyone else sake. Everyone else who treat him badly. Was the same guy who was blackmailing her? It was strange for her, because most time it didn't feel like he was blackmailing her. He treated her well and didn't push her.

"That's really nice of you." She smiled at him, a simple warm smile. She hoped it showed him how really nice she thought he was."Here, let's trade." Before he could get a word out she set down her own lunch on the table and grabbed his ramen cup.

"Huh? What's this?" He asked, unsure whether he should open it or not.

"It's rice porridge." Hinata said, watching he pulled out the thermal."I made some this morning for my sister. And since I had some left over I took some for myself."

Naruto pulled the top of the thermal and watched the steam rise out from the bottle. He took a whiff of it and set it down. Okay, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't expecting much of a reaction. In fact, she was expecting something more."You didn't have to give this to me. I was fine with my ramen."

"Just take it. Besides you need it more than I do." Hinata shook her head at him. She could see that he was getting ready to protest so she quickly added."You won't get any better at this rate. I'm trying to help."

He sniffled, sucking up mucus and used his sleeve to wipe under his nose. Naruto looked back at the thermal."You have a point. I suppose I should accept it. Thanks, Hinata. It smells great."

A smile graced her lips as she nodded. One wonderful thing about Naruto was how sincere he was. And he smiled back, it was easy to tell how happy he truly was by her kindness.

"Um, what are you waiting for?" He continued to smile, but Hinta was confused by his question."Shouldn't you be heading back to go eat with the others?" His head turned as he coughed into his hand.

"Oh! I'll leave then." Walking backwards toward the exit he added."Eat every last drop and come back inside soon."

Naruto just waved his hand and began to eat his new hot lunch. Seeing that, she stepped inside and took her time getting back to her classroom. And Ino was waiting for her, still sitting her seat with her mouth full of food. The glare she sent her was fierce. Never ignore Yamanaka Ino, ever.

"Sorry." Was all she could think of to say as she sat back down.

Ino's glare let up, but barely. It was hard to stay mad at Hinata. She being a 'princess' and all. The blonde girl huffed as she sat back in her seat, looking Hinata over. "Where were you?"

That she didn't now how to answer. Telling her the truth would set Ino off again. Why did she hate Naruto? It wasn't like he actually did anything directly to her. Same thing went for Temari, but she was sure they had some history. Back on track, she couldn't tell her what she really went to do. The problem was that Hinata couldn't think of anything good to say.

So, she shrugged. And that of course made her suspicious. Oh well, back to ignoring her. She opened the top to the ramen and found the noodles ready. Ino had started talking again while Hinata stirred her noodles.

The girl didn't even notice that Hinata was eating a different lunch than what she had originally brought. Sakura raised an eyebrow at it, but didn't say anything about it.

Hinata didn't generally have a big love for ramen that Naruto had, it was especially obvious when you talked to him. It was just one of those meals she'd eat if she was served it, nothing special. But when she ate these noodles, they tasted so incredibly good. Yet, she had no idea why? It tasted like any other ramen, except that it was instant.

Why was it so good then, she wondered. There was a good chance that it had to do with that simple and innocent act of kindness. What she did for Naruto to be more precise. Hinata loved to help others if she could. You could argue that she was helping him with his quest for fame in the school. But she wasn't doing that sincerely.

Giving him that congee was genuine. And knowing that she was able to help him even a little made her happy. Everyone deserved kindness and she believed he especially needed it. Plus, she felt like she owed him.

If he had kept his umbrella he probably wouldn't be sick in the first place. But, he gave it to her. Why? She had no idea. What bothered her more was that he kissed her forehead. She'd definitely have to ask him about all that after class.

Hinata reached up and touched her forehead again. This was like the tenth time she did so since it happened. It was a ghost of a kiss, so innocent. It revolted her, at the same time it made her insides feel warm.

She blushed. What on earth was she thinking? The thoughts of his kiss should not be something that her brain was filled with. It just kept replaying over and over in her head, making her fidget, uncomfortable with it all.

Lifting her chopstick to her mouth, she ate another serving and then turned to look out the window. Naruto was still sitting there, eating his porridge. He was eating it rather fast and that made her happy. Maybe he liked? Hanabi said it was good.

But was it delicious? Or more importantly was it delicious to him? She should have waited for him to take the first spoon."Slow down." She mumbled after swallowing her noodles. At this rate he was going to choke.

"Hinata." Sakura called to her. The dark haired girl was totally out of it as she watched the boy outside."Hinata!"

"Huh?" She faced them hurriedly almost jumping out of her seat."Oh, yes?" _Do they know who I was watching?_

Sakura smiled gently, but Hinata could sense some unease with the girl as she asked."We were thinking...It must be heard working with an idiot?" As usual her eyes went on Ino.

Hinata's mouth formed a line as she pinched her lips. She wasn't able to talk, because Ino spoke up."Yeah, is he creep around you when no one else is around?" Ino looked worried, that didn't mean she actually was though."He did get a girl pregnant after all." She lowered her voice, leaning over and Sakura did the same. "We're worried for you."

No they weren't. At least Ino wasn't anyway. And she was certain that he did not get anyone pregnant, yet alone force her to commit suicide. He didn't seem like that guy at all. And in the short time that they've actually been talking, she knew that it couldn't have been true. She could feel it. And maybe she was just being naive, but she still felt certain.

And it was absolutely horrible of Ino. She wanted to say so as well. But, no she couldn't do that. It would just start trouble."He's not like that." She replied softly."He's actually pretty nice." If you exclude the fact that he blackmails, but then even that didn't feel like blackmail with him. "His a bit silly, but not creepy." And that was certainly true.

Ino looked as if she was about to start laughing. Sakura was the same. And hinata felt deflated. Why did she ever think her words could get through to them."Don't be fooled, Hinata? He's always so quiet and never interacting with others."

"He's so weird." The pinkette added.

Ino nodded and continued."Even he knows it."

Hinata bit her bottom lip in frustration."He's not like that, I'm telling you." She continued with soft tone.

"And you know him so well?" Her words were venom."Have you even seen his face?"

The blonde beauty had her there."No." She said, meekly and looked down at her desk surface. No, she hadn't seen his face. And he wasn't so keen on revealing it. She wondered why. Psh, she wondered a lot of things! Sure she knew a little bit of him, but so much of him was still hidden.

"Exactly." Ino raised a finger, smirking. It was clear how proud she was to be right. "You wanna know why? He's probably scared to show the only person who's nice to him his face because he might scare you off."

"What?" Hinata switched her gaze back to her. What did that even mean?

"He's hideous. Remember. Namikaze Naruto as ugly as a beast. He could be one with all the things he's done." Her voice raised loud enough for anyone to hear. Oh, so it was just one of those stupid rumors.

Hinata was so angry with Ino at this point. She clenched her fist tighter and bit her tongue. How could she say that? He wasn't like that! He was just a high schooler who wanted people to like him!

And as soon as she thought it. She knew it was true. That was why Naruto wanted to be so popular. So, people would like him. Why? Again, she had no idea. But Ino. _Ino,_ was just-just-just the worst! There was a word for what she was, but Hinata was too much of a lady to say it.

"You shouldn't say-" She began to speak, but stopped when she realized they weren't paying any attention to her no longer. They looked elsewhere with slightly wide eyes. Hinata followed thier gaze and found Naruto standing in the classroom awkwardly. It looked as if he was headed toward his seat, carrying Hinata's thermal.

It hit her. He had heard. He heard all of Ino's terrible words. How much? She had no idea. What was he thinking, what was he _feeling_? She couldn't even guess because his face wasn't visible.

The silence broke when Ino laughed, a bit awkwardly."Did you hear?" She asked, looking at him as innocently as possible. She was a great actor, so it looked real. But everyone knew how fake it was.

What surprised them more was that he replied. He was talking more than he ever did as of late.

"Ummm..." He scratched the back of his head, not sure how to answer her."...Yeah."

"Are you mad?" She inquired, amused. Hinata stood up, but no one noticed. They were so focused on the two blondes in the room.

"No...I...Um..." His breathing hitched. He took a few steps back. Hinata watched him carefully. He was struggling to breath."I...um... you're-you're." And then Namikaze Naruto fell over and fainted.

* * *

 _Okay, so yup haven't noticed I'm trying to update every five days. I'm trying to take this story at a steady pace. Hinata's secret will probably be revealed in chapter nine or ten. Naruto's will slowly come out in bits and pieces after Hinata's._

 _A lot of you were like,_ **"I HOPE INO GETS IT"** _Ahahaha. She will._

 _And the scenes between Naruto and Hinata, I promise will get more fun and cute *winks*_

 _I've had a weir epiphany. Sasusaku used to be my OTP, now it's tied with NaruHina. And another thing, I know for a fact I have more fun writing NaruHina. In fact I have so many ideas about them I could write, but I'm going to do a story one at a time. So, I know for a fact I'll be writing more NaruHina than anything else. Ha! Just felt like sharing that._

 _Also, 67 reviews! 43 favorites! 86 follows! That's so much! To me it is anyway! Thank you guys, even though I'm not nearly done with the story, thank you!_

 _I hope you guys enjoyed!_

 _Little Miss Kairi out~!_


	7. Healing Touch

**Healing Touch**

* * *

Hinata sat on a hospital bench nervously, holding a white umbrella. She waited patiently.

.

.

.

After Naruto had fainted. Everyone had practically went silent. No one knew what had just happened. and the finally someone broke the silence. Sakura. She turned to her bleached blonde friend who was looking rather pale and said in a low whisper."I think you killed him."

That's what set it off. Ino jumped from her seat and Sakura followed suit. Other classmates just whispered not knowing what to do. Hinata was the one person who had ran, or more like threw herself at him. "Naruto!" She called, not bothering with honorifics. "Naruto?" She just looked over him, not daring to touch him.

"I never knew words could kill." Sakura said, watching. She looked just as scared Ino and everyone else

"I didn't kill him!" Ino barked defensively."Move!" She shoved Hinata to the side. Normally the girl would have been mad, but it wasn't like she could do anything. She was too scared to touch him.

Ino leaned her ear over his nose, and then she went more pale than Hinata that was possible."H-he's not breathing. D-did I really kill him?"

This time, Hinata didn't hesitate to touch him. She shoved Ino away, but the girl didn't seem to mind nor care. She was overcome with fear and so was Hinata. She leaned over to hear his breathing, but just as Ino said. He wasn't breathing. This terrified her beyond belief.

Then she placed her ear over his heart. As soon as she heard the first heartbeat she was flooded with so much relief she was practically drowning in it. "He's not dead! He's not dead!" Everyone else released a sigh of relief, Ino especially who was sitting stiff on the floor.

"What you waiting for! Get Mr. Hatake!" Hinata shouted at Ino, who was stricken. No one had ever heard their princess raise her voice like this before.

The girl didn't hesitate, she got off her butt and ran out the classroom. Not too long after, the sound of an ambulance was heard from outside, followed by Mr. Hatake running in wearing an extremely worried face.

Everything else after that passed in a blur. The paramedics took him away. Mr. Hatake followed. And they all watched the van pull off from the window. Worst, after they were gone school continued. How could they expect her to focus when she had no idea what happened to Naruto! Was he in a serious condition? Was it a minor? Was he okay now?

Apparently she wasn't the only who was worried. Ino was. Why? If he in fact did _die_ after she insulted him, it wouldn't look good. She's be destroyed. Plus, who would feel good about making a person faint? That is, if she was even the reason.

Through all the classes Hinata hadn't paid any attention to any of the teachers words. Her mind was preoccupied with other things. By the end of the day, Mr. Gai came into their homeroom and announced that Naruto was in fact _alive_ and okay.

Hinata exhaled a breath she had no idea she had been holding. As soon as the bell rung for the end of school, she was packing up in a hurry. She wanted to go to the hospital and check on him herself. By the time she mad it downstairs and had her bag, it suddenly came to her. She had no idea what hospital he was at?

So, she had to run all the way back up to the teachers staff room and get the information from Mr. Gai. Again, it came to her when she was almost out the door. Wouldn't that be kind of weird? Not only to others, but to him too? She really didn't have a reason to see him...save for that she wanted to.

They said he was okay, but she wanted to see for herself. He did get sick because he gave her his umbrella instead of using it himself. Then he wouldn't be in that condition. It wasn't just worry that filled her, but guilt.

Wait, his umbrella! How convenient. She snatched it up from it's place and made her way to the hospital in a steady jog.

~.~

When she entered the hospital she immediately went to the front desk and asked for his room. Once she had the information she needed she hurried there. The elevator ride had felt like forever. as soon as she made it to her floor she dashed out into the hall to make up fro lost time.

She spotted his room after a few seconds of walking. But the door was ajar. Huh? He had visitors, who would vist him? She felt bad for even thinking such a thing. It wasn't like he was completely lonely, right?

Hinata was curious as to is visitor was though. Quietly, she peeked through the the crack of the door. Naruto was sleeping on the bed with an oxygen mask over his face. Beside his bed was not one, but two people. A woman and a man, she couldn't see their faces because their backs were turned to her.

The man wore a white coat and stood, so she knew immediately he was the doctor. The woman sat on a chair pulled up to the bed. She breathtakingly long _red_ hair. She had almost thought the woman was bleeding from the head. But when realizing it as hair, it was a unique beauty. Who was she to Naruto?

She walked away from the door, not wanting to interrupt and sat down on a bench in the hall. She'd wait till they left. Then she's see him-no return his umbrella. Setting the umbrella across her lap she waited patiently, fidgeting a bit in a nervous state.

How long were they going to take? Not that she wanted them to hurry or anything. She just didn't know if she could stay here that long without calling her family to tell them she'd be late.

Chewing her bottom lip, the girl tapped her foot against the floor in a slow pace. As she she did so, she called herself down. Naruto was okay and it was still a while before visiting hours were over. So she really shouldn't be in such a hurry to see him.

"Miss Hyuga?"

Hinata knew that voice. After all she listened to it for about an hour for the start of school. She quickly stood from her seat and turned o face Mr. Hatake. How would she explain her presence? "Teacher." She said to acknowledged him.

He raised an eyebrow at her, clearly surprised to see her there. But she was too busy wondering what in the world was he still doing here? He must a really good teacher to care about his students so much to stick with them so long.

"Have you come to see Naruto?" He asked, wearing a very obvious and all-knowing smile behind his mask.

"Wh-what? No! It's not like that!" She protested, taking an unconscious step back. Wait, did he call him by his first name? She must have misheard.

"Oh yeah?" His usual bored expression came back."Then for what reason are you here, hm?"

"I, um, let's see, I um, came her because, um I-I-I wanted to return this!" It took her a while to remember what her excuse was, but she quickly held out the umbrella when she did. "B-but since you're still here, you can give it back in my stead."

Mr. Hatake actually looked amused, it left her embarrassed with red apple cheeks."No thank you. You can give it to him yourself. " He paused and then added."In fact you can do it right now. His parents just left the room."

His parents? Hinata had to admit, she was curious as to who his parents were. Until she realized it must have been the two in the room. She swiftly turned around and found the two walking down the other side of the hall, so yet again, she didn't see their faces.

"I have to talk with them, so go ahead." He sent her an encouraging smile before stalking off after the two Namikaze's. Hinata watched them until the disappeared down a turn in the hall.

She didn't have to wait very long at all. After taking a deep breath, she went and entered his room. Hesitantly she approached his bed where he was resting. He was still wearing the oxygen mask from when she first peeked in and it made her wonder what was wrong with him in the first place.

Since he was still asleep, she decided not to disturb him and sat in the chair that was already beside his bed. She didn't mind waiting a little longer, but if he didn't wake up, it would be too bad.

So, she sat and watched him sleep. Which, was not creepy in anyway. He looked peaceful sleeping, and she could see his eyes for the first time, well they were closed, but still. he had long dark eyelashes. Not long as in feminine, but they were still beautiful. She couldn't see _all_ the side of his face, he was turned on his side so his so his cheeks were covered by the pillow and hair.

She was tempted to push out of the way, but that would mean touching him. And she was not going to touch a boy! She pursed her lips and sighed. Naruto's face began to form a frown, she figured he must be having a troubling his frown deepened, she pondered if she should wake him up. But she completely stopped thinking when she saw something new on his face.

Tears.

He was crying silently in his sleep. Now she really didn't know what to do. And she didn't know why, but seeing him actually cry surprised her. She never imagined that Namikaze Naruto could cry. She only ever saw half of his face. How was she supposed to react to this?

Seeing him cry was just so foreign, but non the less it made her heart uncomfortable. Seeing anyone cry made her heart uncomfortable. Hinata raised her hand and pointed a finger. With out thinking she pressed that finger against the knot between his eyebrows of the frown. This was something she did when Hanabi had discomfort in her sleep and frowned. Maybe it would work for Naruto.

And it did. His frown dissolved and for a moment she forgot she was touching him. A boy. When she snapped out of it, she balled up her shaky hand and pulled away. Why had she done that? Hinata looked down at her fist, that was trembling gently. She didn't know whether it was doing that because of fear, surprise or what!

Never had she willingly come in contact with a boy! Somehow, Naruto was different, not that she was completely comfortable with him! It was just, different, somehow. She couldn't explain it.

She cleared her head of those thoughts and looked back up to find a sea of blue staring at her. Her breath caught. She was completely stunned. Where had this beautiful color come from? It was like...magic. She blinked, but stared back with wide eyes.

It came to her after a moment, it was his eyes. His beautiful eyes that she never had a chance to see until now. And she felt extremely lucky to be able to see them. They were practically glowing.

Though, he looked dazed. And then he slowly pulled off his mask, squinting his eyes at her. She didn't know what to say or do. They just held eye contact. It was so...different than usual. "God? Is that you?" he asked, barely audible.

She blinked after a moment and shook her head."No. It's Hinata."

A pause.

"Even better." He smiled, a bit more conscious. And how different it was to see him smile with those blue blue eyes.

Hinata resisted the urge to laugh. It was so silly and out of place."I didn't know you were a flirt, Naruto." she said, looking away. It was hard for her, to look him in the face when she could actually see his eyes.

Naruto didn't seem to notice he was too busy trying to sit up and failed miserably. "Argh, I hate hospitals." He grumbled, and moved to lay on his back."What are you doing here anyway?" He asked, not rudely, but just curiously.

He sincerely wanted to know, and there was a hopeful look in his eyes. "I came to return your umbrella." She said, setting the said item beside his bed. And she was happy she was able to say that without stuttering. She had recited it over and over in her head while he was asleep, she didn't want to repeat the same incident with their teacher.

"Oh." He sounded disappointed. He _looked_ disappointed! Her heart throbbed, she could see the emotions in those blue eyes. His eyes were just as open and honest as he was.

He clasped his hands over his middle and stared at Hinata. She stared back, it was hard not stare back, but it was still hard to not look away."What's wrong with you?" She asked, breaking the awkward silence. And she was very agog about it all. And she was too busy being flustered to ask Mr. Hatake.

"Oh." Was all he said. Again. Then a slowly a wicked grin spread across his face. Hinata didn't know how many times she brought up his eyes, but seeing him smile like that with his eyes in sight was breathtaking. Literally. Her breathing hitched. It took her moment to remember how to breath.

"Were you worried?" He inquired, ever so innocent. His tone was mischievous and excited, and she also heard the hope. And he was surprised when she reacted in a different way than what he expected.

"Of course I was!" Hinata almost yelled. And seeing the shock in Naruto's face she calmed down a little. She didn't mean to raise he voice, her emotions just suddenly bubbled over. Not that she was mad at him. "I'm sorry, but I really was worried. Everyone was." Maybe not as much as her, but hey were all still worried.

"Hm." What was up with his short answers?

"And...I felt really guilty." She added.

Now this caught his attention."Why?"

"Because, I should have just made you use the umbrella. I was yours after all, and if you had used it, you wouldn't be in here today." Hinata looked down at her hand. Finally, she had got that off her chest.

"That's ridiculous. How is that your fault?" Naruto frowned at her."I'm the one who gave it to you and you even tried to give it back. Twice."

Hinata nodded her head. That was true, but she still felt guilty.

"And anyway, the whole umbrella thing isn't why I'm sick."

Hinata perked up."What?"

"If I had just ran on home, I would have been fine." He shrugged a shoulder weakly."But I stood out there longer than I should have. I got distracted."

"With what?"

"I'll tell you later, no, better, yet I show you later." He smiled, hiding a secret behind it. "Anyway, I came down with pneumonia."

"Pneumonia? Oh, Naruto, how could you go to school in that state." She shook her head in disbelief."People _have_ died from that."

Naruto chuckled softly."In my defense I had no idea what I had until I fainted in class and woke up in an oxygen tent."

"They had to put you in an oxygen tent?"

"Yeah, and then the doctor explained and blah blah blah."

Hinata couldn't understand why he talked about this so casually. It was serious, and so scary. Did he not know? "Naruto..."

"I'm getting better, and they gave me antibiotics. I'll have to stay in the hospital for a little longer, then I can go home. But going back to school won't happen so soon..." He rambled on, it was impressive for someone in his state.

He paused to breath, and it looked as if he was having trouble for a moment. But he bounced back and stopped speaking, resting himself.

"I wanted to know..." Hinata took the chance to talk again and speak her mind. "I wanted to why you have me the umbrella anyway. It was yours and you needed it just as much as me."

Nature's blue eyes fixated themselves on her."Does it matter? I thought I told you to think if it as an apology."

"It does matter to me. I don't like other people getting hurt because of me. No mater what you were doing out there so long you probably would have been fine if you kept the umbrella."

"Umbrella, umbrella, umbrella ." Naruto rolled his eyes."I told _you_ it's not your fault. And I rather be sick than you."

Hinata blinked her eyes, shocked to hear such words. No one had ever said anything like that to her face before and _sincerely_ mean it. How was she supposed to feel about this.

"And anyway if you really want to know It's because I wanted to give it to you."

She swallowed."But why?"

"I don't know." For the first she saw Naruto being dishonest. It made her realize a little why he was always being honest. He couldn't lie. well, he could. But he was incredibly bad at it. His eyes displayed all his emotions and he turned them away when he said this. And to add to that, his voice gave it way as well.

When he shifted his eyes back on her, she was still waiting for a proper answer."Fine." He sighed and he looked a little embarrassed by his next words."I wanted to because I like you. Hinata."

He liked her? Already? It was only a matter of time she supposed. Whenever a boy had a chance to get close enough to talk to her a confession soon followed. What made her think Naruto wouldn't do the same? Maybe this was why he blackmailed her in the first place. Maybe he just wanted to get closer to her and could find no other way. Yes, that would make sense. And explained his previous words about him being sick instead of her.

Hinata didn't know what to say. She had never been confessed to in these circumstances and Naruto looked at her expectantly. To say she was distressed would be a bit of an understatement. Through the time she had spent with him, she learned that he was actually a good person. Not to mention he was laying in a hospital bed with a case of pneumonia. She's have to put him down easily.

And yet, somehow her heart skipped a beat at his genuine words and his sincere ocean blue eyes. But that wasn't enough for her and she couldn't see herself in a relationship with him. At the same time she didn't want to heart him, she'd have to break it to him softly. This _should_ be easy, it wasn't the first time she rejected a person. But...

"I-I'm sorry. I can't accept your feelings." Hinata looked down at her clasped hands, keeping herself as calm as possible. She didn't want to look up and see his sad expression he'd be having by now.

The girl risked a small peek though, just to make sure. He looked unfazed. Strange reaction. So, she continued."But I'm sure there's another girl out there who will-"

"Hold on! I didn't mean _that_ type of like, Hinata!" Naruto interjected, he didn't look offended or flustered."I meant I _like_ you as a _person_. Not, um, romantically."

Processing his reply slowly in her brain, she didn't feel relived, but embarrassed at her own mistake. How could she think about it that way! She was blushing furiously now."O-Oh."

"Man, you really _are_ a conceited aren't you?" He raised an eyebrow at her with an amused smirk.

Hinata buried her face in her hands. This was the second time this happened to her. How was he always able to make her look like a fool? Her world was changing with him around. Though, it wasn't an unpleasant change.

"I-I think I-I'm going home." She mumbled, but she knew he had heard. With an embarrassed whimper she stood from her seat and Naruto watched her rise. She refused to look him in the face.

"Hinata?" It didn't take her long to ignore her embarrassment to look him in the face. And he smiled at her."Have a safe trip home."

Such simple words, and yet they were warm, because she knew her really meant it. For a moment she didn't know how to talk. "Naruto, you're are the most thoughtful person I've ever met."

It seemed her words took _him_ by surprise. She returned his smile."Get well soon, 'kay?" She waved and he waved back.

When she exited the hospital she was now certain. Certain that Naruto could be loved by everyone, that he could be popular. He was kind and thoughtful and lively and a bit of a goof. But she was so sure! He just had to step out of his own world and into theirs. And she would make him do it. She'd make him popular.

* * *

 **Behind The Scenes-**

 _ **Naruto:** Holy shit! You're really going to make me popular, Hinata! _

**Hinata:** _Yeah, that is the plot of the story, isn't it?_

 ** _Naruto:_** _I thought the plot was about me and you making each other face our-_

 _ **Hinata:** Naruto, shhh! Don't spoil the audience! And look the author looks mad._

 _ **Kairi:** Naruto, don't make me replace you. _

_**Naruto:** Eh?! You can't replace me! I'm the protagonist!_

 _ **Kairi:** A protagonist. Hinata's also a protagonist. In fact we've been looking at her point of view over yours. So I could replace you with-with that guy! *points at Shkamaru*_

 ** _Shikamaru:_** _Being an actual protagonist? Sounds like a drag... *Sighs*_

 _ **Hinata:** Please, please don't do that!_

 _ **Naruto:** Heh, okay so maybe you could replace me. But the audience loves me. And everybody knows. I'm the hero!_

 _ **Kairi:** . .._

 ** _Naruto_** _ **:** Plus, you love NaruHina! That's your OTP!_

 _ **Kairi:** True, true. I do love me some NaruHina. Okay, fine, just don't spoil anyone 'kay?_

 _ **Naruto:** Yeah, yeah, sure. So, what did you guys think about this chapter?_

 _ **Shikamaru:** Well I thought that the author was being-_

 _ **Naruto:** I was asking the audience!_

 _ **Hinata:** We hoped you guys enjoyed. And please give lots of love by reviewing and favorites. *Whispers* Please, I really don't want to be shipped with anyone but Naruto...Plus I get paid more if we get shipped. Do you know how big our fanbase is? We're like the-_

 _ **Kairi** : Times up! Little Miss Kairi out~!_

 _ **Temari:** Where the hell did everyone else go? And when am I making another appearance? Didn't you say I was important!_

(I just wrote that for fun. Haha, tell me if you guys don't want it or would like more.

Little Miss Kairi out~!)


	8. Honest Tears

**Honest Tears**

* * *

Two weeks.

Two weeks had passed and he _still_ didn't come to school. She knew that he had to rest, pneumonia was a very serious sickness after all. And she knew that it would take time. The girl even searched the internet and learned that it would take a while for a person to recover from it. And he hadn't even reached the longest point, so she wasn't worried.

It wasn't worry at all. It was just...She missed him. It didn't feel the same with out his presence behind her. With out him bugging her when no one was looking or when the teacher called his name and he'd have some smart remark or more commonly a dumb answer. And grading papers without him.

She was yet to talk about that with Mr. Hatake. Hinata was sure that it was not the duties of a school representative and vice rep. He was obviously just shoving his work off on them, or more like on her, because again, Naruto wasn't there.

Hinata was sure that she wasn't the only won't he felt his absence. The others did too, it wasn't the same. They definitely noticed, just didn't care. That did annoy her, but not as much as Ino's backbiting on Naruto. The bleach blonde went back into her normal routine, even if she did lessen up a bit. And Hinata wondered how she could talk so badly about a sick person, who wasn't even here, so easily.

She was sure she wasn't the only one thinking it. Some other students/classmates made faces at her words, but didn't dare speak out against her. How could they? She was in fact the top dog around here. But that didn't give he a right to talk bad about him, or anyone else for that manner.

Lately, she was getting more and more frustrated with Ino and Sakura too. Sakura was just as bad even if she was just following Ino. Did the girl not have a mind of her own? Hinata tried to distance herself from them a little, but not too much. They were her friends after all and she felt safer with them around.

Still, she was starting to see how mean and horrible a person a her friend really was. How could she not have seen it before? And now that she have seen it, what could she possibly do about it? If she tried to stop her or keep her in check, she'd just become another victim. And then what?She just didn't know what to do, so she remained silent util she thought of something.

Apparently, Hinata wasn't the only one who thought she in particular had to do something about. Kazetani Temari thought so too. She even voiced her thoughts to the Hyuga, and not so nicely either. It was on Friday after school ended and most everyone was either heading home or lounging about talking. he friends of course was part of the crew that went straight home.

Tomorrow would be Saturday, and those two always made plans for the weekends. Unfortunately, Hinata was left behind for she had to fill in for Naruto a the vice rep. At least this time she wasn't grading papers. It was actually work to do with the student council. And she was used t that already, so it wasn't a big deal. Though, she had to admit it would be more fun to do with Naruto around.

If he was still around she could have give tips on how to open up and talk with people. That was his assignment she gave him. But he had gotten sick and was not able to do it. And if she thought about it, even when he was sick he barely tried. He only talked to her.

So, as she did her work she tried to think of strategies to help Naruto. But no matter how much she came up with, she knew it would fail because he was always hiding. Of course she was still certain that Naruto could become popular. He was a good person, but he needed a boost of self-confidence to help him. The only problem was, she had no idea where is lack of self-esteem stemmed from.

If Hinata knew that then she could fix it and things would be a lot easier. So, what was it that he was so unsure of about himself? It couldn't be his personality, he seemed content with the way that was. And she would never would to change they way he was for anything, that was his most wondrous feature. So, what could it be? His appearance?

Before she could think any further about it, her attention was snatched away by the sound of the door sliding open roughly open followed by a furious yell."Shikamaru, I'm going to rip you a new one!" Hinata at first would have thought this was Ino, but Ino wasn't that rough with the Nara, at least not in public. The bleach blonde's face had to be saved.

So, it was not her, but it definitely was a blonde person. Kazetani Temari to be precise. She looked pissed as hell, which scared Hinata. The taller girl walked into the classroom and looked around.

"Ummm..." Hinata didn't know what to say. She didn't want the girl's anger directed towards her next. But she was curious as to why Temari was looking for Shikamaru. And what he did deserve a beating from her. Hinata knew they shared the same homeroom, Ino had whined about it more than once.

Temari threw her head back and sighed."They said he was in here. I guess they lied."

Hinata was hesitant, but she shook her head."He,um,he was in here. But that was a while ago, he came to drop off some papers from the student council."

"Oh." Was all she said as she plopped down tiredly into a seat."He's probably long gone by now."

"Yeah."Hinata nodded and remained quiet fora moment watching Temari. It didn't look as if the girl was leaving anytime soon, so she went to continue her work.

"Namikaze still hasn't returned?"

She sighed, reminded once again of his absence."Yeah." She said a little more solemnly than she meant."Pneumonia is a very serious illness."

"How did you know he had pneumonia?" Temari asked, not suspiciously but curiously.

Hinata blinked and quickly came up with an answer though she stumbled all over it."Uh,Mr-Mr. Hatake told us. Y-yeah..."

"Hm,they way Ino was talking out all that shit I would have thought he was back."

Hinata chewed on her bottom lip."I know. She's just..."

"A bitch?" Temari supplied.

"No,I wasn't going to say that!"

"Yeah, well that's she is."

That was true. But she wasn't about to say that a loud. She felt ashamed for even thinking it.

"Hyiuga, why don't you ever say anything to her?" Temar asked, seemingly more frustrated.

Hinata was dumbfounded."What could I possibly say that would stop her?"

"I don't know, anything! Everyone loves you, they'd back you up I'm sure." Temari exclaimed."I mean you're their princess, angel and goddess!"

Hinata could see how serious Temari was. Ino must have said something to her again today, not surprising. But why did Ino always pick on her. Every. Single. Time. She hated her more than anyone. No one knew why, but looking at Temari's eyes she saw bits of anger, exhaustion and...was that sadness?

"It's not that simple." And it wasn't! Besides the fact that she could become a victim herself Ino was not someone to mess with, others wouldn't dare back her up just in case they got hurt in the process too.

Temari crossed her arms over her chest. She looked defeated and it made Hinata feel horrible herself, but not as much as her next words."Sometimes I think you're just as bad as her." She grumbled.

Hinata couldn't even comprehend why she would say those words. They were so untrue! Hinata was nothing like Ino. She never used peoples weaknesses and secrets against them. She never said terrible things behind their backs or to their faces. She tried to look for the best in people! What could possibly make her as bad as Ino!? It was ludicrous!

Temari had managed to make her feel frustrated and maybe even a little hurt. She balled her fist and spoke slowly but not so steadily."I never say anything bad about anyone. I-"

"Sure, you don't so that. But you stand by and watch. And don't even do a thing."

"I-"

"Stop making excuses. It's true and you know it. You're no victim. You're a perpetrator."

It was if Temari had ,not slapped, but punched her in face. And it hurt. It hurt more than anything she thought possible. Was she really the perpetrator? She didn't have enough time to think about, because Temari wasn't done yet.

"You're pitiful actually." She added, glaring at her. Hinata had a feeling that the girl was just taking her anger out on her. But it still really, really hurt. And she didn't even know why. Temari didn't even know her.

"Y-you don't know me." She breathed.

"I know enough. I know that you're a coward. Let's be honest, you're just as scared as Ino as everyone else, right?" Temari stood up, preparing to leave."So, you just let her do what she wants so she won't hurt you."

"She wouldn't hurt me." Even that sounded like a lie to Hinata."She's my friend."

Temari snorted."You don't have any friends." And with that she walked out the door, leaving Hinata in mess.

~.~

After Temari left Hinata by herself, the Hyuga didn't know what to do. She was a giant ball of emotions. And she still had no idea why what Temari said bothered her so much. It just did. So, she had to figure out why. She thought about so much much, just sitting there staring into space, that she wasn't able to finish her work.

So, she packed it up and decided to do it at home. But she still wasn't very focused, dazed really. Why did Temari have to questio the way she lived, she was already ddoing it herself thanks o a certain hoodied blonde boy. God, why were _all_ these blondes getting on her nerves!

Seriously, three blondes! First Naruto, then Ino and now Temari. And Hinata had a originally thought the girl was always cool as ice as long as Ino wasn't around. But no, now she had to get on Hinata too. And for what? For not doing anything when she was trying to!

Did people really think it was so simple? Well, it wasn't, but she was trying. She tried to object to Ino's claims but was laughed at or they thought she was joking. She tried to stop Ino from talking about someone, but was ignored. It wasn't easy, and made her realize how Ino barely took her more seriously than she took Sakura.

It was insulting, but she didn't know how to fix it all. It was all confusing and Temari getting on her case really did not help! It was frustrating,k everything she said. Hinata did not have to take it seriously or to heart, but she could not stop pondering on it.

In her trance, she unconsciously bumped into another student. A male student, but she didn't identify him as such until he grabbed her wrist to keep her from falling. She was leaning back,on the heels of her feet, if he let go, she'd fall. From this angle, she got a close look at him, but her brain was not focused, all she could cleary see was the headphones on his head.. Her breathing stopped and fear crawled up her spine and spread through out her body.

He pulled her close, not close enough for it to be intimate, but close enough make Hinata finally freak.

It was all a blur really, adrenaline pumped through her body. Knowing this boy was so close, that he was _touching_ her. It was automatic. She didn't slap him, but she elbowed him in the gut. He was shocked and reached down to hold his stomach in pain, letting go of the grasp he had on her. Once he let go, she didn't waste time shoving him away with all her strength and ran away from the scene.

She ran only hearing pounding or her heart and her feet hitting the ground of her feet hitting the floor. When she finally made it outside, out the back door, and gulped in fresh air, everything became clear to her.

First she was doomed. She was just attacked a fellow and he'd no doubt tell someone their princess did so. Of course they would doubt him and call him a liar, but if he wanted to prove it he easily could. Hinata couldn't control her body.

Second there was what Temari said. It only took her to crash her head into another person. Hinata didn't even put much effort into stopping Ino, because she was afraid that doing so would hurt herself. The only time she came close to shouting at the girl was the day Naruto fainted. And she did just stand by, watching the girl hurt others.

Why did people look to her to do something anyway!

Sure, she was called all these names, but it didn't mean they were all true! And she wasn't responsible for every single person. What these people didn't understand was that she, like them, had problems too. That she, like them, was scared too. That she, like them, was just a person. That she, like them, was only trying to survive.

It didn't matter if she was nice to the others and did nice things for the or kept their secrets. She was still horrible, and did they even really like her? Or was she just like Ino, they were afraid of her, but were able to pretend to like her.

Did _anyone_ even like her?

And did she really have no friends? No, that wasn't true. Even though the girls didn't treat each other ideally, they were still friends. Right?

Ugh, she didn't know what to think anymore. But she was certain of one thing.

And it was the fact that she was a bad person.

Knowing this didn't help her at all, she was still having her panic attack. And it only increased her anxiety. She was going to cry. And she hated crying, she could remember clearly the last time she cried. It was seared into her brain. But she hed the dam of tears and breathed in and out, trying to relax herself.

She held her head in her hands and crouched down, looking at the tips of her shoes."that's right, just focus on your shoes." She told herself. over and over again, trying to forget all that had just happened.

In fact, she was so focused on he shoes and only heard her own voice she didn't hear the sound of footsteps approaching her. However, she did see someone else shoes come into her line of sight. Male shoes, shoes of their school.

Her heart stopped. That student must have found her, and he must be angry and he must want an answer as to why she totally slugged him. She didn't think he'd find her, and did he alrewady report her to the principals office? It wasn't like he didn't know who she was, everyone knew who she was! She should have seen this coming.

Hinata continued to stare at the round, not wanting to face her problems. But slowly she looked up, and was shocked to see blonde strands of hair, hanging down away from his face as he stared down at her. She could see his beautiful, practically glowing, blue eyes. But that wasn't what completely caught her attention this time. It was the sides of his face, there three dark lines that were there, like whiskers...Were they scars? No, must be birthmarks.

She suck in a breath. She was looking at his whole face. And she realized it wasn't just his eyes that were beautiful, but him. Namikaze Naruto was a beautiful boy and Hinata knew it.

And then he did the most wonderful thing. He smiled at her. He smiled at her with his eyes and mouth and his whole face! It was the best smile that she had ever seen.

This beautiful boy was smiling at _her_ , a bad person who stood by and watched people get hurt. She even stood by and watched him get hurt. And yet...he liked her. He had said so at the hospital, even though he observed her her and knew her secret and probably knew her better than anyone else. He liked her!

She didn't deserve it. She didn't deserve to be like by him. Yet, she wanted him to like her and was happy he liked her.

"Hey, Hinata." He said, so casually. Like it was just any other day and they were working again on grading Mr. Hatake's or discussing how to make him popular or he was poking fun at her about how secretly she was conceited or-or-or just something! "You okay?" He asked, after a second, noticing her extremely pale face.

Her dam broke. She couldn't hold it in anymore. If she was to be honest, she had been holding in a lot longer than anyone could have imagine. So, it all came out at once.

Hyuga Hinata, a once very refine and composed person, 'loved and respected' by everyone, who's life had changed since a certain blonde boy came into her life...bursted into sopping wet tears. And all because Namikaze Naruto, the lamest and most hated boy in school, who was kind and thoughtful and silly and funny and just misunderstood, cared. Because he cared about her.

A boy, cared about her. And Hinata couldn't remember the last time a _boy_ cared about her. And she couldn't remember the last time that she truly and deeply cared about a boy. She was was always afraid of them since that accident, she couldn't look at the same even though she knew they all weren't the same. She was always afriad what they might do to her.

But as soon as she started crying she knew that Naruto would never hurt her like those in the past. That he was different and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it was good.

So, she cried over Naruto, and over the truth of Temari's words and over her condition and over her past. She cried about it all. It wasn't pretty crying either, she sobbed with big galloping tears and snot threatening to run down her nose, but she kept sniffling. No matter how many times she tried to stop, she couldn't. No matter how many times she wiped away her tears, more just came.

She hated crying, especially in front of people, especially in front of boys, and she didn't want Naruto to see her this way. At the same time, she didn't mind.

Naruto was utterly shocked? Did he do something, wrong? He couldn't even think what unless she was frustested with the whole blackmailing thing. But that didn't seem like that was it. "H-hey?"

"I-I'm a b-b-b-bad person." She choked on tears, barely even able to get it out. She wanted to tell him everything, but she just couldn't. He body was to busy sobbing and crying to let her talk. But that was the most important thing she could say. "I'm so b-bad." And she continued sobbing and with closed eyes. She didn't want to know how'd react. And she didn't want him to see her this way, she could only imagine how horrible she looked.

 _Ziiiip!_

Hinata didn't recognize where the sound was coming from and then she felt soft light fabric thrown on top of her, like a blanket. When she opened her eyes, at first she could barely see Naruto through the blur of her tears. She quickly wiped them away and noticed immediately something was wrong with Naruto's figure. Her attention was stolen away when he grabbed her wrist gently and lifted it up.

Automatically, she reached to hit him, and she did. She hit his shoulder, but it was weak. She was so tired and struggling because of her sobs. Naruto continued what he was doing, but the way his shoulder tensed and slumped, she knew he felt it.

He put he arm through a sleeve. Confused she was. "Wh-" She took her other arm and put it through the other sleeve. Then she knew what was different about him."He wasn't wearing his hoodie She was!

She stared at his plain white T-shirt with a red swirl in the middle he was wearing. Not sure what to say. He zipped up the zipper and made sure her chin wasn't caught in it."There." He said, with finality. The hoodie was a lot bigger on her than on him, but she was smaller than him.

It was more comfortable than it looked. And it smelled nice, which was surprising since Naruto was always wearing it, she'd expect to smell like body odor and sweat. But instead it smelled of Hawaiian flower laundry detergent and a hint of mint.

"This is a safe place." Naruto said, bringing her attention back to him."If you want to hide for a while, and want to block out everyone else, to just think and feel safe. This hoodie is the place to do it. That's why I'm always wearing it, just in case, ya'know?"

Hinata blinked away her tears, just for more to come. She didn't know what to say or if she could say anything at all without just sobbing louder.

"A friend told me that when she gave it to me as a gift. It was the last thing she left me. And I've been using it ever since." He sighed and sat beside her."But, I'll let you use it, just for today."

Hinata turned away. Naruto was it again, just being so nice. She whimpered and then whined as her tears came back at full force. Why couldn't she stop crying, it was tiring her out. He threw the hood over her head.

"And don't say you're a bad person. You're not. I would know better than anyone else, even you." That only made her cry harder, because she actually believed him. Naruto was always honest."So, don't ever say you are. _I_ like you after all."

He places a hand on her back, she stiffened at first. He was touching her again, and he was a boy, and she knew he wouldn't hurt her. But she wasn't quickly put at ease, until he started patting her back. And then she slumped, comforted by this.

So, Hinata cried for hours and Naruto stayed beside her the whole time patting her back in silence. He didn't need to say anything. Him just being there was more than enough.

* * *

 _This was a cute chapter to write for me, the more I write the more mushy they get together! Not to mention it came out a lot longer than intended. Oh well, if it happens it, you guys don't mind the extra thousand words now do you?_

 _Sadly my updates will be slower,boo! And by slower I mean maybe ten days or so, I'm not going on hiatus and leaving my fanfic a half done.. Just slower updates, wah! I'll go back and fix any grammatical and spelling mistakes later._

 _And one more thing, don't send me Pms telling me how to write my stories or asking me to give spoilers. You just have to wait._

 _That's all! Hoped you guys enjoyed! And give all that love, favorites, follows and most of all reviews! I love reading your reviews._

 **Behind The Scenes:**

 **Naruto:** Temari why does Ino hate you so much?

 **Temari:** Your observant, figure it out yourself.

 **Naruto:** Hey, I'm just asking what the audience wants to know.

 **Temari:** The audience are more focused on you and Hinata's mysteries.

 **Naruto:** Oh yeah, it's because we're the protagonists. We can't help it if people love us. *Waves to audience*

 **Hinata:** You shouldn't brag, people like Temari too **.**

 **Naruto:** Sure, but they _love_ us.

 **Hinata:** True...

 **Temari:** I hate you guys so much*Walks away*

 **Hinata:** T-Temari wait

 **Naruto:** Don't go Hinata, shes the one who yelled at you...Just let her go. You don't ow her anything.

 **Hinata:**...

 **Kairi:** ...You do know that was all an act right?


	9. Nothing but Cowards

**Nothing but Cowards**

* * *

"Do you want to talk about it?" Naruto asked.

Hinata had cried for hours. And when she was done, she felt drained and exhausted. It was as if she had finally released all the tears she had held in for years until now. And maybe that was exactly what she did. She didn't know all what she was crying over, but she knew exactly what had built up the tears and what had released after she was done, she felt as if a weight was lifted off her chest.

By the time she was done, it was already getting dark out, and the only time she moved was o sit down in a more comfortable position. They didn't move, not at all scared who might see them together, everyone ha to have head home by now. So, it was just Hinata and Naruto, siting peacefully. He had never once left since he got there, he just stayed beside her and patted her back the whole time.

When she was done,he removed his hand. And her body didn't react to hit him or cause him any pain to make him leave her be. Maybe it was because she wanted him to stay exactly where he was. She really did, and he did. He didn't have to stick around, but he did. And she was more than grateful for it.

She glanced at him sideways, he was looking straight ahead, not at all as tired as her. He didn't push it, nor ask anything else, and waited patently for her to reply. Hinata had no idea how quiet she was before she responded, but when started talking her voice was hoarse and weak. It made her speak softly, afraid she might lose it before she could finish her story.

Hinata told him everything, what Temari had said, what she did to that boy in the hall and when she had her moment of revelation. She watched him from behind her hood how he sucked in all this information with crossed arms.

"I guess taking your problems out on other people runs in the family." He muttered to himself, but Hinata heard him and it confused her.

"What?" She asked, wondering what he meant by that.

Naruto, instead of answering, shook his head, brushing off the question."Nothing." He turned to look at her."So, do you really believe what she said?"

Hinata shrugged her shoulders, not at all sure anymore. at first she did, but Naruto said she wasn't a bad person. And believed, she was desperate to believe him. she didn't want be classified as bad and a perpetrator. And that wasn't the worst of what Temari had said. "She was right about some things." She admitted, feeling pathetic as she said so.

"Yeah, I guess that's true." He agreed with a nod.

"What?" Hinata didn't want him to agree with her."You think she's right?" Hearing him saying so hurt more than Temari saying so.

Naruto scratched the top of his head, moving a few strands of hair away from his face. she could see an eye, which brought her comfort. She liked his eyes. Though, she wished she could see his birthmarks again. They were unique.

It was funny how easily she was distracted. But when he started talking, she was brought back. "Yes. Just the bit about you being a coward." He said lightly.

Hinata hung her head. It hurt, because it was true, and it hurt even more because it was coming from him. But he already knew that, after all he knew a lot about Hinata."Yeah." She sniffled. she knew she was a coward, always hiding herself so she wouldn't get hurt.

"So I am."

She looked back up at him.

"Don't look so surprised. You even called me one a while ago when you were explaining the whole popular system." Naruto chuckled softly."You said I was hiding, and I was. I also didn't want to get hurt."

Hinata blinked her eyes, remembering it all clearly."I hadn't realized I called you one indirectly."

"Yeah, well, you did. I've been thinking about it a lot too." He sighed."And I don't know if I can do it. Ya'know, talk to people and getting involved. I'm afraid what they might say if...never mind. I'm just a coward."

"We both are." Hinata laughed. This was so weird, how they both were just opening up to one another. Speaking their thoughts. But she realized that they did this before too. Just being their selves in the others company, it was nice.

"Cowards together." He raised a fist, and laughed."Ah, we're pathetic."

She nodded in agreement.

It was quiet for another minute, before she asked slowly and very much afraid of his answer."Do you agree with her about me being perpetrator?" She silently gulped, waiting for his answer nervously.

"If you're perpetrator, than so am I. And everyone else. We all stand back and watch while someone else gets messed with. Even Temari. I think we're all victims in our own ways."

Hinata felt relieved to know he didn't think that way about her. She sniffled again and used the hoodie sleeve to wipe away the snot she couldn't suck up.

"Hey!" Naruto held out his hands, looking distress at what she just did."Don't do that."

Hinata looked at the sleeve, then back to him."I'm sorry." She whispered, feeling bad. He had explained some hours ago whyhe wore this hoodie all the time. And it was incredibly important to him no doubt. He was kind enough to let her use it.

"I-it's okay." Naruto smiled, still looking a little nervous.

"Do you want to take it back?"She asked, prepared to give it back. Hinata didn't want to make him uncomfortable o mess with it.

He shook his head,"You need it more than I do right now. You should see your face."

"What do you mean?"

"Eh, let's just say the after effects of crying isn't all that good on you. Or anyone." He snicker."I never thought I'd see a moment with you not looking beautiful."

Hinata pulled her phone out of her pocket and used the camera to see herself. She groaned when seeing herself. Naruto was absolutely right. Her eyes were puff and red rimmed and there was tear stains down her cheeks.

Not wanting to see herself she put her phone away and brought her hoodie over head more."I don't want my family to see me like this."

"Then keep the hoodie for now. You can return it to me later." He said slowly.

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I trust you."

"Okay, I'll take good care of it and wash it too."

He smiled again."I know you will."

"Naruto..." Hinata started."Do you also think she's right about me not really having any friends?" She already the answer to that question. Of course she didn't have any real friends and she knew it deep down even before Temari told her. She was just 'playing at friends' so she'd keep herself safe. Another example of her cowardice.

"No, she's wrong about that one." His smile grew a bit wider as he said."We're friends. So you have at least one."

"We're friends?"

"Uh-huh. We hep each other, we're able to speak our minds to one another when we can't around other people, and we're always having a great time together."

Hinata smiled at him, feeling complete she could cry, she would, but she already spilled all her tears for the day. Honestly, some part of her was hoping he'd say that. That they were friends, because when she was with him, she was certain that was what friendship felt like. It was sad to admit, but she never really had a friend besides her sister since elementary school. But this was different, way different.

"I never had boy friend before." She replied bashfully.

"That's okay, we'll start off slow. How about we seal the deal with a kiss?" Naruto teased.

Hinata blushed furiously, again he manged to embarrass her. But she had to admit it was kind of funny, every time it was."I meant I never had a boy as a friend."

"Right, well, I'll give you one anyway." He said,and leaned over, planting a kiss on her forehead. He quickly backed away knowing what was to follow.

But to his surprise, it didn't come. He stared at her,and she stared back."Um. Isn't this where you hit me with that martial-artist-super-strength of yours?" He asked, slowly.

Hinata blinked her eyes twice, he was right, her body should have naturally reacted already, but it didn't. Strange, she did try hitting him a while ago when he put his hoodie on her. So, why not now?

How odd. But it made her happy, maybe her body recognized Naruto as a friend as well. That he wouldn't hurt her, that each time he touched her it was only for comfort. She smiled, feeling warm in his hoodie. "Oh, right." She said, and raised a fist.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly a her first, clearly afraid of what she might do."Hey-hey, I didn't mean you had to h-"

Hinata threw an incredibly slow 'punch' at Naruto, her knuckles lightly touching her cheek, his skin was unexpectedly nice, and turning his his head the other way. To add to the fun of it all, she added a sound."Chu." Like the sound of a kiss.

Naruto paused, and looked back at her."You're seriously weirding me out."

She laughed, of course he wouldn't understand. Her gesture meant a lot more to her, considering she knew the meaning behind it. She had willingly touched Naruto with him conscious and watching her. And though she felt it was okay to touch him, she still hadn't climbed over all her walls. So, even though she wanted to plant a kiss on his cheek to show him her appreciation and acceptance of him, she couldn't.

But, a soft light touch with the back of her hand was okay. And it meant a lot to her, especially considering she couldn't stand to be near boys, but somehow this particular boy broke into her life and changed her everything! And the funniest part was that he had no idea.

"Okay. I think it's time for someone to go home." Naruto stood up from his spot, still not understanding what she found so funny."Come on." He offered her his hand and looked at her meaningfully. Well, she supposed he didn't not understand it all.

Hesitantly, Hinata put her hand in his and squeezed it with a painfully tight grip. Naruto, didn't seem to mind all that much, because he just pulled her onto her feet without questions. She stared down at their hands, before loosening her grip just a bit.

When she looked back at Naruto he was smiling again."Let's go, princess." There was that mocking tone again when he said it. Though, this time there was something else mixed in. Endearment.

He yanked the hood farther down over her face and began walking ahead, bringing her along with him. As they walked, she stared down at their hands, holding one another. And Naruto had nice hands, they were a little coarse, but not hard. And naturally, they were bigger than her own, enveloping her's in it's warmth.

She gave it a light squeeze, never feeling more happy and nervous in her life before. She was holding hands with a boy! Sh was friends with a boy! And she liked it. Very much, if I may add.

Naruto in return, gave her hand a light squeeze back, filling her with a strange joy. This was real and this was happening. Staring up again at his back,she came to a resolution.

"Naruto." Hinata stopped, not dropping his hand and 'causing him to stop along with her.

"Hm?" He turned his body slightly to face her.

"I'm tired of being a coward, aren't you?" She looked up into his eyes searching for his feelings on the subject. And she could see it. He was too, and yet still scared, like her."So, let's stop. Together. We were cowards together, so let's be brave together."

Naruto stared at her in awe. And she didn't know why. It wasn't like she had just committed a brave act at this very moment. But he stared and then his eyes softened as he nodded his head."Okay, Hinata."

And that's all she needed to hear.

 **~.~**

Hinata stood on the sidewalk in front of a cafe, holding a shopping bag. Inside the bag was something of Naruto's she'd be giving to him. She was a little excited and nervous at the same time. This would be the first time they'd be meeting outside of school. Okay, the second time. The first time was when he had been hospitalized. Which reminded her, she never congratulated him on getting well last night.

She'd tell him today when he arrived, which wouldn't be for another twenty minutes. To be honest, Hinata was worried about being late and was maybe a little too excited, so she ended up coming early. She had been waiting for five minuets now, and usually that wouldn't be a problem if she knew he was going to be coming soon. But he wasn't.

With a sigh, Hinata wondered what she should do to pass the time for the next twenty or so minutes.

"Hinata?" Said a voice that she recognized right away. Though, the owner of it wasn't supposed to be here so soon.

Hinata whipped around, excited to say the least."Naruto?" She blinked and almost didn't recognize him for a moment. It was just that she was so used to seeing him in his school uniform. Here he was wearing cargo shorts, sneakers, a white and orange striped shirt with a black swirl design in the middle, and brown brown-reddish wrist band on his left wrist.

It was so simple, yet she stared not used to seeing him dressed out of his uniform nor hoodie. "Um, your early.." She spoke up after a moment.

"So are you." He replied and then slowly a smile spread across his face."Couldn't wait to see me could you?" There was that mischievous flirty lilt to his voice.

Hinata laughed,"You know me so well." She said with a roll of her eyes. But it was true, she really could't wait to see him. She had so much planned out for today."Come on Naruto, we have much to do."

"Is my hoodie in that bag?" He asked a little hesitantly as he pointed.

She looked back to him and shrugged."What else would be in here?" She instead replied with a question of her own.

"Can I have it?"

"Not yet." She told him and began walking , he couldn't have his hoodie yet. He'd just hide away in again. And that would ruin her big plans for today.

Naruto didn't look nor sound comfortable without it, she could tell. His body language said it all, he was fidgety and nervous. And she wasn't used o seeing this side of him. Though, he stuck to her side with his head hel down and avoiding the gaze of anyone who looked their way.

He was so consumed in whatever thoughts he was having he didn't see where Hinata had lead them or that she had stopped.

"We're here."She told him.

Naruto looked up and even through all that hair she could see his shock."Wh-what are we doing here? I thought we were just going to have some fun?" He demanded for an answer.

Hinata smiled sympathetically."And we will have some fun, but first..." She pointed to the shop. "You have to go in here and get some work done."

"I refuse." His voice was very firm and maybe a little threatening. It scared Hinata a bit, but she wasn't backing down. She knew why he was acting this way, and she also knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt her.

He turned to walk away, but Hinata dashed in front of him and blocked his way by holding out both arms. He again was surprised by her actions, but then he frown and tried moving to the side. She moved in and blocked, he tried for the other side and again she blocked him.

"Hinata, what are you doing?" He sound irritated.

"I'm getting serious and so should you." She told him and frowned herself.

"H-huh?"

"Naruto, I'm getting serious. I'm going to stop hiding and so are you, we'd stop being cowards together. Remember?" She inquired, looking at him hopefully.

He didn't stare back at her, instead he hung his head, looking tired as ever."I know.."

"And how are you ever going to be on the top like this!" She added."Didn't you say you wanted to be super popular, well this is the way to go."

"Didn't you say we'd work on appearance later and communication first."

"I did, but that was until I learned why you lack a lot of self-confidence." She put down her arms and looked at him sadly.

He stiffened at her words, looking a little frightened.

"Do you really believe it? Do you really believe it yourself?That rumor." She inquired."Do you really believe you're as ugly as a beast?"

Naruto stared at her, his body rigid. He was so still and quiet that she knew it was true. He really did believe it. And knowing that really stung her heart. How could believe such lies? He was absolutely beautiful, inside and out.

"You do." She shook her head at him and continued."I had been thinking about it for a while. and I put all the pieces together. Why you let your hair cover your face, why you hide away in the hoodie, why you can't talk with people so easily,why you said the rumors of some truth."

Hinata approached him, but he took a step back. How funny, it's always the other way around."I'm not completely sure about the other rumors, but I'm sure that they can't be true. Just like this one. Naruto you're not ugly, you're not hideous, you're not a beast. You're beautiful."

"How would you know?" His voice was breaking a bit. And that's when she realized how deep this subject touched him. Who had made him believe such a thing? It was painful to see him think this way of himself. Especially when she could see what he really was.

"Because I've seen your face."

He went rigid again."Y-you did? then why didn't you say.."

"You really are beautiful, and I can show you. If you just get the haircut. If you just stop hiding. And if you just believe me you'll see!" And then she reached for his hand. He didn't resist, he just watched her movement.

"You said, you trusted me. So, trust me now. Please." She begged him, and gave his hand a squeeze.

"I.." He looked back to her face, and though she couldn't see his eyes, she knew he was giving in. But she could feel he was still as afraid and nervous as before."So, will this be my first act of bravery?" He tried to sound amusing, but it wasn't working.

Hinata smiled, hoping to give him comfort."Yes. Now, come on." She gave his hand another squeeze and led him to the shop.

"Do you really think I'm...beautiful?" He asked as they entered through the doors.

Hinata whipped around to face him, she wanted him to see how serious and sincere she was."Yes, yes I do. Every bit of you."

Naruto was quiet, but she waited for a reply."You know. Most people describe men as handsome, not beautiful." He mumbled and gave her hand a squeeze of his own.

* * *

 _That's the end for this chapter! This was very fun to write, what am I kidding? Every chapter that includes getting close for Naruto and Hinata is fun to write to me! Haha, aren't they the best! And anyway, let's see how our heroes try to be brave and face their problems, eh?_

 _Sadly, no BTS for this chapter. I'm trying to get the next chapter finished._

 _Again I love reviews! I can't wait to hear what you guys think or what you liked like the most about this chap! Favorite and follows are of course loved as well!_

 _Little Miss Kairi out~!_


	10. Practice Makes Perfect

**Practice Makes Perfect**

* * *

Hinata watched as Naruto clawed the arms of his seat like he was hanging on for his life. His eyes were squeezed shut with no sign of ever opening. anyone who saw him would think something horrible was happening to him. And to Naruto, something horrible was happening to him. He was getting a haircut. Which to any other person wouldn't be a big deal. But the Hyuga knew it was in fact a big deal.

He used his long hair to cover his face and block himself from seeing anyone else face at times. It was his way of protecting himself. And it wasn't very healthy, it only made himself believe even farther that he was hideous, when he was not! And she knew that for a fact.

"Naruto, please relax. The hairdresser isn't even here yet." Hinata said, trying to soothe him. She patted his hand on the chair, and his grip loosened.

He let out a long breath and turned to face her."I know I said I trust you and all, but-"

"No, buts." Hinata frowned at him. This was his sixth time protesting, and they've only been sitting in the shop for a little more than five minutes. She was sure that he thought if he said enough than she'd let it go. That she'd give in. But Hinata was not going to let it go, she was not going to let him run away again. Not just for him, but for her. They had to go through this together.

Naruto pouted and bowed his head, shoulders dropping. "It's just taking so long, we should come back another t-"

"Sorry, I'm late." The hairdresser said, walking up to the two. She smiled at Hinata, knowing her well. This was a salon Hinata had came to many times for a trim or such, even as a child."Hello, Hinata." She greeted."And who's this?" She looked back to Naruto, her smile still friendly.

Naruto squeezed the end of his seat again, becoming more anxious.

"He's a friend of mine." Hinata told her, standing up from her seat."As you can see he's having a very bad hair day." She gesture to his mop of spiky long hair.

"Wow, I have so much to work with." The hairdresser, laughed joyously and then she began to set up all her tools which set Naruto even more on edge. Then spread the cape over him and tied it securely. Hinata watched as he gripped the chair even tighter when she raised the seat. But it was she picked up her scissors is when Naruto jumped up from the chair.

"I don't think I can do this after!" He said so incredibly quickly it was hard to understand for moment, but he tried to dash for the door, that was all that mattered. Before he could take at least three full steps Hinata caught him by the cape.

"You are getting this cut!" She dragged him back to his seat, it was easy considering he wasn't fighting her back.

"But I don't want tooooo!" He whined.

"You have to."

"Buuut."

"Didn't I say no buts." She scolded him and made sure he was situated correctly in his seat."You said you'd do it Naruto. You said you trusted me. Didn't you? Or did you just lie?"

Naruto sighed."No, no, I didn't. " And then he grumbled."Fine. Okay. I'll do it."

Hinata smiled triumphantly."Good."

The two were so involved with one another that they didn't notice the stares they received from other customers or employees. Their particular hairdresser didn't comment on it, and just chuckled.

"Just give him a simple cut." Hinata told her, and sat down in a waiting seat beside them.

The hairdresser nodded at her orders and as she started, Naruto stiffened. Seeing this, she began to speak to him."You know, I never knew Hinata had guy friends." She teased."Yo two seem close. Are you really just friends?"

Hinata listened from the distance and couldn't believe what she was hearing. Of course they were just friends! And she was going to say so, but Naruto spoke up first.

"I think she has a crush on me." He told the hairdresser.

"I do not!" She defended, blushing madly.

Naruto laughed and so did the hairdresser.

Hinata decided to stay out of it and bury herself into a magazine. But, she couldn't help but smile a bit. It was obvious to see Naruto relaxed more and chatted with the hairdresser quite easily. It made her happy. He just needed a little more confidence and he could talk with anyone that way. He wasn't too far off from it anyway. She was sure of it

 **~.~**

"Okay, now open your eyes." The hairdresser said, sounding amazed. And with out having to look up Hinata knew why. But she did look up, because see wanted to see Naruto's reaction.

Instead, she had a reaction of her own. Of course she had seen all of Naruto's face features before. His whiskers birthmarks. His eyes. And more. But seeing them all together, with out the cover his hair really stoked her. And his hair! It was definitely less ratty looking now that it was cut, and the hairdresser had done an amazing job. Goodness, she couldn't help but stare.

She knew she said he was beautiful before, and she meant it. But this was on a whole new level. And she hoped he'd realize it too.

His eyes at some point during his haircut shut themselves tightly. But slowly, he began to pry them open and look in the mirror. Naruto's eyes widen at the sight before him, he went pale, though Hinata had no idea why.

Slowly, he reached up a hand and touched the tips of his now short hair."Um..." He looked frightened at his reflection now, but when he turned to look at Hinata he looked even more frightened.

It was her staring, she knew immediately it was that. But the hairdresser's staring wasn't helping either. He didn't know it, but he was just gorgeous!

"H-Hinata?" He gulped, and his fingers touched his whiskers lightly.

"Huh?" She blinked and then quickly snapped out of her stupor."Naruto, you look amazing!" She grinned, and it wasn't forced nor did she do it to comfort him. It just happened without her knowing it. How could he worried, he looked like a male super model, well, a teenage male super model, that is.

He blinked his brilliant blue eyes and chewed his bottom lip nervously."D-do I? I mean...The whiskers..."

Quickly shaking her head she stood up from where she stood."The whiskers are adorable." She told him. And they were, those birthmarks were unique and added something else to his already handsome face. She loved them."I love them." She said.

Naruto stared at her with wide eyes for a few seconds and Hinata blushed. She hadn't meant to say that a loud, but it just slipped. "You love them?" He repeated, running a finger over a line on his cheek."Do..Do you mean that?"

Hinata really didn't like how insecure and unsure he was about it. It was upsetting, reminding her of the horrible rumors that spread at the school. No one had no idea how beautiful he was inside and out. But she would make sure _he_ would.

"Of course I do."

"You're hot!" The hairdresser added.

The two stopped to look at her, completely forgetting she was there. They were so involved with one another they even forgot they were in a hair salon. It was almost comical.

And then Naruto smiled just a little."Hot? Never been called that before." He admitted, not sadly but quaintly. It was new to him, very new to him.

"W-well you are!" Hinata quickly said. Calling someone hot was _new_ to her. But she was going to make him see it, he had to see it! No way they were leaving this shop while he still believed he was, well, hideous. The whole notion was ridiculous. "Believe me when I say that you are by far the most beautiful person I have ever laid eyes on. And I mean that from the bottom of my heart." And she blushed. It sounded like a confession, but she wasn't going to take it back.

Naruto stared at her surprised by her words. And Hinata could see his line of thought changing. "But everyone knows...everyone says..."

"Naruto, you said you trusted me. So, trust me now." Hinata frowned slightly."Listen to me, and only me. Because I'll tell you the truth."

He stared at her a little while longer, she could see the uncertainty in his eyes. But then slowly he started to smile and though she could see the nervousness in his eyes, she knew that he had put his complete trust in her."This better make me popular." He said, barely above a whisper.

Hinata was elated, she could knew he was still scared, but his trust for her overruled his fear. This was going to his new start, and her's as well."It will! I know it will!"

~.~

It didn't take long for Hinata to finish paying and for them to leave. It just took a little while for them to detach themselves from their hairdresser. She was a talker, and her Naruto had become quite friendly with one another. It was nice to see him talk so easily with her, though his eyes kept looking down when he talked to her. He was too conscious about his appearance, and not in a positive way either.

But, that would change, Hinata would make it happen. She was more determined than ever after finally coming to terms with herself. To be completely honest, she probably would have continued living the way she had even after Temari's outburst if she hadn't known Naruto. But after he crashed into her life, she started seeing things more clearly.

And because of that, she was thankful. And now she wasn't just going to make him popular for her own sake, but for his. He would already popular if it wasn't for the fact that he was so insecure. It was all those rumors and his own cowardice that held him back. But a little self-confidence would go a long way.

"Gah!" Hinata jumped in her spot, someone had grabbed her shoulder. Though the touch was light, she knew it was the hand of a male. So, without hesitation she brought her elbow back and it him in the chest.

"Ow!" He groaned and moved away from her."H-Hinata what was that for?" Naruto asked, rubbing his chest, trying to soothe himself.

Her eyes widened when she realized it was him. The Hyuga had been so lost in thought that she hadn't even realized that Naruto was walking behind her, let alone he was the one that touched her. "I'm so sorry!" She was quick to apologize. "But, why did you grab me so suddenly."

Naruto continued to rub his chest and looked away. He blushed. Hinata blinked, she had never seen him blush before, usually his hair covered his face up so well. It was nice to see every part of him now that he wasn't hiding behind his mane of hair.

"I, well, you see, it's just that..." He licked his bottom lip and looked back at Hinata."I was wondering if I could, I don't know, maybe, probably, you know get my hoodie back." He mumbled and pointed at her shopping back.

"Oh.." Hinata shook her head."No, you can't have it now."

"Why not?" He asked, and pouted.

Hinata blinked her eyes and laughed."Naruto, you're adorable!" And he was! It was so nice to see all of his expressions clearly, she wasn't quite used to it yet. But all of of them were just so perfect.

"Huh?" He was taken aback by Hinata's so straightforward words and found himself blushing more."That came out of nowhere." His eyes looked away, which 'caused Hinata to laugh more.

"You really are though. Come on." She walked ahead, still grinning and giggling a little.

Naruto followed behind her, grumbling something about her being to straightforward. And it was funny coming from him, he was the most bluntly honest and open person she knew. Maybe he was rubbing off on her, because most of the time she thought before she spoke, filtering her sentences.

"Here we are." Hinata said as she opened the door to a cafe that was on a shopping street, surrounded by stores. It was an area that most high schoolers hung out at. She doubted Naruto knew, aft all he didn't have any friends besides her and he recently moved to the city.

Naruto took the door handle from her and she walked inside with him coming in behind her. The blonde boy stuck close to Hinata, he had been doing that since they left the salon. It didn't really bother her much, he was literally the only boy, that wasn't family, she let touch her now.

Hinata moved to the table in front of the window, and slid into the seat. Naruto sat across her and watched closely as she set the shopping bag on the floor. He really wanted that hoodie back.

"So, what are we doing here?" Naruto asked, but quieted when the waiter came to the table to take their orders. She simply ordered them two ice teas and watched as he left retrieve their orders.

"We're here to rehearse." Hinata told him and stared back at him.

Naruto frowned, confused."I don't quite understand.."

Sighing lightly, she began to speak."Naruto, I took you out today so we can prepare you. If you're going to get popular, you need to know how to talk with people. With out your hoodie. So, we'll practice."

Naruto remained quiet, not knowing what to say. And Hinata stared back at him, waiting for him to say something."With out my hoodie?" He questioned, sounding very uncertain.

"With out your hoodie." Hinata confirmed.

"Okay... How am I supposed to do that?"

"First, pull your shoulders back, don't hunch, raise your head and meet my eyes. Even if you don't feel confident, then pretend you are, because eventually you will be."

Naruto did as she said. And even sitting, Hinata could see how he was much taller than she. The top of her head only reached his shoulder, and barely. "And most of all, just be yourself. You're absolutely charming, Namikaze."

Naruto smiled at here, and she was happy to see I'm do so. He looked less nervous and more at ease because of her words."Okay."

"Now, pretend I'm so guy at school and you're-"

"But, you're not a guy, you're Hinata." He pointed out.

"Pretend, Naruto. This is just a simulation." She cleared her throat."Now, approach me."

Naruto sighed and then sucked in a breath."Um, hi."

"Hello."

He looked down for a moment and looked back up to meet her eyes."This is so weird." He mumbled.

"What's weird?" she asked, still acting as 'the guy from school'.

"Nothing, so, um, do you like ramen?"

Hinata mused, and said ever so slyly."Not really."

"What?"Naruto blinked his eyes in disbelief."How can you not like ramen? Hinata, I thought you liked it."

"I'm not, Hinata, Naruto! I'm 'the guy from school'."

"Oh, right, but every time I see you, I just see _Hinata_."

Hinata sighed as the waiter dropped off their drinks."This isn't going to work. Come on." She set down cash on the table for their drinks and got up.

"B-but what about our drinks!" Naruto called and whined when she ignored him and walked out the door, expecting him to follow. He sighed and took a quick sip before following her out.

Hinata was looking around from her place on the sidewalk. "Naruto, is there a particular place you want to go. Can't guarantee we'll buy anything though."

He was obviously confused at what Hinata was getting at, but he looked for a place non the less."How about the pet store?" His lit up when he spotted it.

"Do you like animals?" She inquired. Now that she thought about it. He totally seemed like an animal person. He was kind and active, so maybe he especially liked dogs. But then again there were some active people who liked cats more.

Naruto smiled and nodded his head."Yep." He chirped.

"Okay let's go there." Hinata said, and they crossed over and into the pet shop. It wasn't to big, medium sized to be more exact. And it had many animals along with animal food and other things of the sort.

Naruto admired the creatures with a happy smile. Hinata noted the more time they spent out, he wast starting to to focus less on his appearance. And she wasn't going to bring it up now, he'd just get all jittery again.

"There." Hinata pointed to a boy about their age, he was looking at some pet food, though she couldn't see his face clearly.

Naruto looked away from the animals and to the boy"Um, what about him?"

"Go talk to him." She said, as if it was the best idea in the world. But Naruto reacted quite differently.

"What? But, I don't know him." He whispered. It was obvious how afraid he was. How could he talk to a person without his hoodie or his long hair shielding him.

Hinata tried to give him a comforting smiled and said."Of course you don't. You didn't know me and you talked with me. And now we're friends."

"What am I supposed to say?" He continued to protest.

"You both have one thing in common. You like animals. You're in a pet store. Now go, I'll be here."

Naruto stayed in the exact same spot, so Hinata gave him the push that he need, literally. He looked back at he, but after a long moment of hesitation he approached the boy. She couldn't hear what they were talking about, but she didn't mind. Instead, she went back to the front of the store and watched the animals behind the glass.

So, Naruto liked animals, eh? She smiled and waited for him. And only ten to fifteen minutes passed when she started to wonder what was taking him so long.

"Do you like puppies" A voice asked. A male voice.

Hinata stiffened and turned to face the male person standing at her side. He was obviously a few years older than her, maybe in his twenties, and he was smiling warmly, but flirtatiously. She took a step away carefully, hoping he wouldn't notice.

"P-puppies?" She crossed her arms over her chest, as if to protect herself. Hinata felt that nervous feeling creeping up her spine, and she hoped he wouldn't come any closer. But she was used to being approached by men, it was only natural with her looks. So, she just had to keep her distance and tell him off.

He chuckled,"You were looking at them." He explained and her eyes shifted back to the glass where the puppies were sleeping behind. Momentarily, she forgot that he was there and in that moment he took another step closer to her.

Even though her brain was telling her that he wasn't going to do anything bad to her, her body was ready to attack at any moment. "O-oh yeah. I w-was, wasn't I?" She gulped.

"They're cute, I wish I had one of my own." He sighed,"But look..." He pointed at the glass with one hand and his other was coming down to touch her shoulder. Wit out thinking she raised a hand of her own, ready to strike, but stopped mid-attack when Naruto came calling name rather cheerily.

"Hinata!" He was beaming at her, and she was no longer focused on the man beside her or the fact that he now had a hand on her shoulder. Naruto noticed before she did and quickly went to work removed the stranger's hand before she noticed and retaliated.

The person stared at him and all Naruto said was."It's for your own good." And then he led Hinata out of the shop before she really did hit him.

"Thank you." Hinata said, when they were walking again and her heartbeat calmed. And then she checked her watch, she'd have to go home soon. Every Saturday she cooked dinner.

"Anytime." Naruto told her happily."Oh! And hey you were right! I was really scared to talk with him, and he wasn't very talkative, in fact he was kind of quiet. But you know what? We both did like animals and that was enough. He has a cat!" He rambled and started talking more and more about this person. It made Hinata happy.

"See, Naruto. It wasn't so hard now was it?"

"It was a bit hard. But yeah, it wasn't too hard." He rubbed the back of his head. And then, he suddenly asked."Why are you afraid of boys?"

Hinata slowed down her walking pace, and pinched her lips. She didn't want to talk about it, and she was going to say so when she thought the better of it. She was never able to open up about this story with anyone. But with Naruto she felt it would be okay, that he would understand and maybe sympathy."I'll tell you." She said after a moment of silence. And Naruto waited patiently."If you give it your all on Monday."

"What? My all?"

"Yep." She handed him the shopping bag and he looked down at it and back to her."Trust me, okay. We have each other's back's."

Naruto fidgeted and held the bag close."Alright."

"And another thing, don't open that bag until you get home." She stressed."I have to go now."

"Really? Can, we, um, meet tomorrow?" He asked, hopefully.

"I'm sorry." Hinata said, sad to see the disappointment on his face from her response."I spend Sundays with my sister."

He sighed."Then I guess I'll see you at school, eh?"

And to that she nodded. "See you later."

He smiled and was the first to leave. Though Hinata wondered what he would think when he reached home and found out that the bag did not hold his hoodie but a more fitting school uniform. And that she was confiscating his hoodie. Thinking about about it, she felt guilty, but she never said that the bag held his hoodie.

* * *

 _The end! This chapter came pretty late, apologize for that. And the next chaprer will probably come out late too. Even so, I do hope you guys will continue to keep up._

 _Anyway, this chapter doesn't have much excitement, but I guarantee the next one does. So please review and more!_

 _Little Miss Kairi out~!_


	11. Namikaze Naruto's Debut

**Namikaze Naruto's Debut**

* * *

Hinata sucked in a deep breath as she approached the gates of the school. Today was a new day and meant to be a new beginning. But she was a ball of nerves, she had no idea what'd she say to Ino and Sakura. And how she'd approach her bleached blonde _acquaintance_ , about her bullying the other kids. Should she wait till the situation presents itself, or tell her directly as soon as she saw her.

It was terrifying and confusing. That was why she took the liberty of going to school before them. Honestly, she just wanted to travel to school with out them, so she could have gone after them, but still being a goody two shoes, coming early was the best option.

Fortunately, she wasn't too early, the gates were open when she came along. Without any hesitation she walked in, and saw a some other students around, and she was grateful Ino and Sakura was not among them. But of course they weren't, they never went to school early, to her advantage. This gave her time to prepare what she was going to say and do.

But before she could even step into the building, a hand grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her out of sight of anyone else and to the side. Of course she freaked, anyone would in such a strange situation. What if it was a male? No, she was sure it was a male, his hands felt that way.

She had already stated to react, prepared to elbow him in the abdomen and continue her onslaught after she got him to release her. And yes she was terrified, this person had moved her away from the sight of anyone else. What would this guy do to her? Whatever it was, she wasn't going to wait for it to happen. So, she pulled her elbow back in one swift movement and bam!

He released her. Taking this chance, she quickly turned around and kicked his chin, and watched as he fell to the ground in pain. "OW! What the- Hinata! Ow!" Whined the boy, Naruto, on the ground.

Hinata's eyes grew as big as saucers when she recognized that scratchy voice with a hint of a country accent."N-Naruto?" She leaned over him, her face was that of concern. She did him pretty hard."Oh my god! I'm so sorry, are you okay?"

Naruto groaned on the ground, holding his chin. "I'm okay, I'm okay." He said after at least two whole minutes of moaning. He then stood up, and noticeable shifted his weight on his other foot."But why'd you have t hit so hard?"

Him saying that made her feel guilty, but still..."You know how I am, why did you sneak up on me like that?" She huffed and crossed her arms.

"Ah, you're right. I had it coming." He scratched the back of his sheepishly and smiled shyly, looking the other way."Sorry 'bout that."

Hinata smiled herself, but more concerned,"it's fine, I just hope I didn't bruise you or anything like that." She looked down to at his pants leg as if she could see his shin through the fabric. If it did in fact bruise, she'd have to ice it in the infirmary."How about your stomach?" Her eyes wondered to his stomach and immediately something was wrong. No, wait, it was right.

"I'm fine." Naruto spoke, but she was no longer listening to him. She was too busy observing his appearance. The perfectly fitted dark plaid pants, the short sleeved white dress shirt, the red tie and like her he also wore the dark vest. And now she saw his face. He looked fantastic! A golden student.

"You wearing it. You're wearing the uniform I bought you." Hinata said, smiling so incredibly proudly. She felt so happy to see him like this. And she knew everyone else would be in for a shock on how he looked."It fits perfectly. You look great!"

Bashfully, Naruto stuck his hands into his pocket."Yeah, well...That's because you I don't have my hoodie! Which is the reason I pulled you aside in the first place." He frowned, easily slipping out of his shy state.

"Oh, about that..." Hinata hadn't exactly prepared any explanation for him on it. She just thought that if she took it for a while, she could get him to open up more. Because surely if she left it to him, he would just cower back into it.

"Hinata!" Naruto raised his voice, frightening her. Seeing this, he lower his voice more, but still frowned."You can't just take that. I told you it's very, extremely vastly important to me."

"I-I know..I j-just." Hinata struggled to find the right words to say, she could just up front say that it was for his own good. Well, she could, but it would just upset him more. And she didn't want him to be upset with her. It mad her feel really bad.

"You just what? It doesn't even matter. I just can't go in without it. So give it back. Now. Please." He just couldn't help but be good to her even when he was mad at her. Naruto held out his hand expectantly.

Hinata looked down at his hand and then backup to his serious and clear blue eyes."I-I can't!"She whined, her face crumpling.

"Why not?"

"I don't have it on me." She mumbled."It's at home"

"What!" Naruto blinked and shook his head in disbelief as if he couldn't believe what she was saying."I can't - there's no way - I just..."

Now she felt really guilty. She knew it was a bad idea t take that hoodie. But still, she thought it would help him progress. "I haven't washed it yet. I'll give it back to you when I have, I promise." She hastily told him.

But Naruto narrowed his eyes at her,"Do you mean that?"

"Yes!" And she did mean it.

Naruto sighed sat on the grass floor and leaned his back against the brick walk."It doesn't even matter. I can't walk in there without it." He sighed again.

"But, you have to." She crouched down beside him, but Naruto looked straight ahead and not at her.

"How can I do that without my hoodie. It's my shield , my safe place." He muttered, already defeated. And seeing this upset her. "I and my face-"

"What about it? It's gorgeous!" Hinata interjected.

He nodded his head. "I know."

"Then why are you bringing it up?"

"It's just...ugh. I know, I know it's not ugly, I just." He traced his whiskers with a finger and then buried his face into his hands frustrated.

"Naruto, they're not-"

"I know!" He said, though his voice was slightly muffled by his hands."It's just. I mean. Can you even picture it?"

Hinata sat down beside him, for some reason this reminded her of the previous Friday where they both sat and just talked. After she cried a big sopping mess, that is. "Picture what?"

Naruto moved his face out of his hands and hesitated to answer her, but eventually did."Someone at school called you ugly, just because of your birthmarks." he licked his bottom lip."So, it's just one person. Not a big deal, right? You can ignore him."

Hinata nodded her head, though she didn't know where this was going.

"And then his friend start calling you ugly. and then their friends, and then slowly, but surely everyone there starts calling you it. Everyone. Wherever you go. Just because of _birthmarks_." It was clear to see how upset he got just by talking about it.

"It goes on for at least three years. _Three years._ And there's nothing you can do or say to stop them. So, even though deep down you know it's not true. You start to believe it yourself."

"Naruto..." Hinata watched him, and at his name being called he turned to her. Not frowning, but his eyes were glassy with unshed tears. But he wasn't crying.

"So." He cleared his voice."It may seem like a silly classic fear to you, but not to me. I'm scared what they'll say..." He breathed.

Hinata pondered over his words carefully. Could she picture it? She could a little bit. The Hyuga was easily able to sympathize with him. But she wasn't going to let him just hide."Naruto, it's Monday. And we agreed we wouldn't cowards. Together."

"I-"

"And after hearing this, it makes me so-so mad! I wish I could just do something really mean to those people who treated you that way." She huffed, biting her bottom lip. Yes, that story had mad her mad a great deal. Who in their right mind would treat a person that way, just, ugh! But their were people like that, she knew.

Looking back at Naruto, who was surprised by her words, she spoke again."Remember what I said Saturday, when we went to get the haircut?"

"That you had a crush on me?" He blinked his eyes.

"What? No! That was you who said that. Which is not true by the way." Hinata shook her head and sighed."I said to trust me. To listen to me and only me, because I will you the truth." She placed a hand on her chest to stress her point, and she looked rather like a hero. "So, please, please, forget what those blind jerks said."

Naruto blinked his eyes again, he looked unsure about something, but she didn't know what. She assumed it was just because he was still afraid. "You don't _need_ your shield at every moment. Some battles you attack straight on."

Now he looked amused by her metaphors, but she continued."Naruto, you attack this battle straight on! And if you do need a shield. I'll be it, I'll be your shield."

"Huh? You?" Naruto raised his eyebrows. As if anyone could replace his hoodie.

"Yeah, me." She nodded and stood up."So, let's go, yeah?" She extended her hand out to him. He stared at it for a long minute, but eventually he took it with a firm grip and stood up.

He let go of her hand and gazed at her before speaking loud and clear."Alright then, let's do it. And you better be serious."

Hinata grinned,"When have I ever lied to you?" She asked, teasingly.

Naruto squinted his eyes at her and tilted his head to the side a little. "How about when you said my hoodie was in that bag?"

"I never once said it was in that bag." She countered.

"Fair enough." He smiled at her, not being able to stay mad at her for long. Even if he really really _really_ wanted his hoodie back. But he would manage..."You still have to give me the hoodie back, It was a gift."

"I will. I promise." Hinata nodded and watched Naruto walk ahead to leave their hiding place. But before he completely left, quickly back looking panicked.

"They're here!" He whispered in anguish, still panicked and jittery.

Hinata didn't even have to ask who. It was about that time for them to arrive."Then let's go. with our heads held up high." she walked ahead, and Naruto grabbed her by the back of her shirt.

"I can't go in there while hell on earth is."

"Oh, come on, Ino is not _that_ bad." Hinata

"Speak for yourself. I bet she'll have a field day with my birthmarks." He muttered.

She sighed and walked to stand in front of Naruto. And observed his face closely."Naruto, I said I'd be your shield."

"I know, I'm not that scared, Okay, maybe I am. But I'm just really nervous." He didn't have to sat it, she could say it. His body language was easy to read, but his eyes were easier.

"Is there anything I can do to help you relax."

"You could always give me a kiss." He teased.

"U-uh, what?"

"I'm joking." He sighed.

And there, he had got her again so easily. But as she thought over it and watched his nervous movements she came to a decisions, what she should do. "Okay." She said and looked back at her confused."I'll give you a kiss for each whisker. So that makes about six, right?" She held up six fingers.

Hinata had never been that close when it came to touching him, just holding hands. And that was just fine, they were friends after all. But she wanted to give him a kiss. He gave her a kiss or two before and it had comforted guessed it would comfort him too, or hopefully. And she would give him triple the amount he gave her, so he would have to feel comforted.

But still, the thought of being that close to him, had her a bit afraid herself. Of course he was Naruto, and she knew it was okay, but he was a boy. That was why her heart was beating so fast, ready to jump out of her chest, and that's why her hands shook a bit, and that was why she felt so nervous under his gaze at the moment.

"You don't have to. I was only joking." Naruto told her after a moment, he noticed the way she moved and that she was nervous.

"No, I want to." She replied and took his face in her hands and stood on the tip of her toes. His eyes widened and was ready to speak, but she kissed him, where his bottom whisker was on his left cheek. when she pulled back, she didn't see his face, because she had shut her eyes, and wasn't opening them anytime soon."One." She spoke coolly."For confidence, you deserve and need it."

She went back in and kissed the middle whisker."Two. For courage, to help you win." Another kiss, the top whisker."Three. For strength, you have it, just pull it out."

Hinata lightly licked her bottom lip and kept her eyes shut as she moved on to the other cheek. Again, she began with the bottom whisker."Four. For elegance, you have class, show it." Second whisker, fifth kiss."Five. For luck, though you don't need it." Last kiss, last whisker."Six. For happiness, because you, Naruto, deserve every bit of it."

And with that, she ran away as quickly as could. She couldn't face him after doing all that. Opening her eyes, she didn't dare look back and walked into the school. As soon as she was in, she had rest against her locker for a while.

Her heart was beating so hard against her rib cage, she was afraid she was die right there and then. Though, this time, it wasn't painful, maybe a little pleasant. Which was not the usual, and she couldn't explain why it felt that way. But she didn't ponder on it either, because as soon her heartbeats went back to normal she wasted no time going to class.

~. ~

When she made it to her seat she was greeted by her two 'friends' Ino and Sakura. Hinata of course, greeted them back, awkwardly. They didn't seem to notice though, the two just jumped right into a conversation between them. So, Hinata herself paid them no heed, and was happy to do say. Because she was still having a hard time trying to figure out when and what she said to to Ino about her attitude.

But nothing came to mind, maybe it would come when the time did. Or not. It was stratifying just thinking about it. Her thoughts switched back to Naruto. Where was he? Shouldn't he be in the classroom by now? What was he doing ? And did the kissed help?

Just thinking about it had her beat rise above average, it was embarrassing. Hinata placed her hands over her cheeks, hoping nobody notice how they had changed to a red color. She'd hop she would get over this soon. And good god, why did this even last this long, never before it had one this. seriously, it was-

She wasn't able t continue that line of that, because she looked out the windows to the halls. There was some whispering, big gossiping going on out there. Everyone els in class had stopped to try in listen in, even Ino and Sakura.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked, as if they knew.

Instead of answering her, Ino and Sakura continued to listen in, but couldn't grasp anything. Though, they didn't have to worry. Because not even a second later. the souce of the gossip walked in.

The golden blonde with eyes that shone.

The classroom became quiet. And no one said anything. Naruto's eyes wandered around the classroom, looking at each person's face for second. And Hinata couldn't help but notice Ino straightening her back and smiling shyly when his eyes landed her. It took a lot out of her to resist the urge to scoff at her.

Finally his eyes landed on her. He held her gaze for a moment and then she smiled a little. And in return he grinned, it was meant for her, but she knew everyone else was awed. Naruto had that affect on her, so how could no one else be awed as well. His smile was like rising sun.

Then he moved his eyes away from her and focused them on the whole class, but there were lots of students outside the halls, listening in and peeking through the hallway windows.

Naruto's smile went from shining innocent, to a smug one. Though, Hinata was sure she was the only one who could tell the difference."Good morning, my classmates!" He greeted, boisterously. He walked over in front of the teachers desk and looked back at her. And she wondered why he kept looking back to her. Maybe it was one of those things that people did when they had stage fright, look at the person they know or something.

She raised an eyebrow at him and return he just sent her wink. It took her a moment to recover from that. Where did he get all this confidence from all of sudden? Okay, sure he was like this when it was just the two of them, but in front of all this people! She was relieved no one noticed.

Slamming down his hands on the desk, he squinted his eyes at all of them. "I'd like to reintroduce myself."

"Reintroduce?" Ino blinked."I thought he was a new transfer student.

Now the whole class broke out into whispering conversations, even the the students in the halls. Hinata simply shrugged a shoulder at Ino as an answer and let her and Sakura engage in a hushed conversation of their own. She wasn't surprised no one recognized him. His original uniform and hoodie made him look frumpy and hid his true form and face.

If she hadn't seen him before, she probably wouldn't have recognized him at first either. And so, while everyone else conversed, she watched as Naruto wrote his name on the chalkboard in big letters. Then he turned back around and slammed his hands on the desk again, gathering everyone's undivided attention. And then he spoke with a sly smirk.

"Namikaze Naruto, is back and has never felt better."

Complete and utter shock hit anyone who heard like a giant wave. And Hinata had to admit, seeing Ino's jaw drop and her eyes grow as huge as Frisbee plates was pretty satisfying.

* * *

 **Behind The Scenes:**

 **Naruto:** I have to say, this by far was my favorite chapter.

 **Kairi** : And why is that?

 **Naruto:** Why, I am so glad you asked. *Sits back* Two things. I got kisses and I got to be super cool.

 **Hinata:** You were pretty cool. And the kisses...They were nice too. *Blushes*

 **Naruto:** Don't be so shy, Hinata. There's more to come.

 **Kairi:** Naruto! Have you been reading my future chapters?

 **Naruto:** Of course not! It's a romcom, it's only natral there' more to come.

 **Kairi** : Good point.

 **Naruto:** Also, it's not like you wrote any of your future chapters yet either, lazy bum Author.

 **Hinata:** Naruto, don't speak about the author like that.

 **Kairi:** Actually, he's pretty spot on...I've been watching a lot K-dramas instead of writing so.. yep.

 **Hinata:** Oh.

 **Kairi:** Yeah...I'm going to go finish watching the new episode of Uncontrollably Fond. So, see ya! *runs off*

 **Naruto:** Get back here, you need to start the next chapter! *Runs after Kairi8

...

 **Hinata:** U-Um, well, that was awkward. *Clears throat* I'm sorry you had to see that. But I do hoped you enjoyed the chapter! The next one will probably come out on the deadline because out author is..Well, you know. But she isn't all lazy, she does stud and do other things...But she is pretty lazy...

 **Temari;** Back on topic, Heroine. or I'll reeplace you.

 **Hinata:** Oh, yes right! So, please favorite, follow and most of all review we all like reading your thoughts and such. When we see reviews it makes the author get off her butt, well no, she sit on her butt to write, but you know what I mean. Basically she get to work.

 **Temari:** But seeing the reviwes make her realize this fanfiction is not only a journey for her, but for all of us.

 **Hinata:** How poetic!

 **Temari:** Sure. So anyway, send yourr love and wait patewntly for the next chapter!

 **Hinata:** Lights out!

Little Miss Kairi out~!


	12. Two Brave Kids

**Two Brave Kids**

* * *

 _"Namikaze Naruto, is back and has never felt better."_

 _Complete and utter shock hit anyone who heard like a giant wave. And Hinata had to admit, seeing Ino's jaw drop and her eyes grow as huge as Frisbee plates was pretty satisfying._

.

.

.

Silence fell over the classroom and it spread out into the halls. No one spoke, no one moved , just stood or sat there. It was as if someone hit the pause button. All was shocked and...awkward? Yes, most certainly awkward, especially for those who called Namikaze Naruto 'ugly'. Now he was standing there in front of them all, looking beyond amazing.

The only people who were not frozen or surprised was Naruto himself, and Hinata. She looked around the classroom feeling strangely good about the whole thing. These people were finally getting what they had coming. They must feel like complete idiots at the moment, especially Ino.

But as the seconds passed by, with all eyes on the shining blonde, she could end that he was starting to feel awkward, fidgeting behind the teachers desk. As his guardian angel no- friend, she took it upon herself to get things going again. So, she tuned in her seat to look at Naruto's main tormentor and thought for moment to think of something good to say.

"Namikaze sure cleans up nice, doesn't he?" She said , slyly, and loud enough for anyone in their vicinity to her. and, she couldn't hold back the smile on her face.

In response were a bunch of incoherent stutters and sputters from Ino. She couldn't even form a proper sentence, and it was hilarious. But what was most noticeable was her flushed, embarrassed face. Well, at least she had the decency to feel shameful.

"I'll say." Sakura instead answer, sounding as dazed as everyone else, and she there was also hidden envy. Though, Hinata didn't know why.

That set it off. Everyone started adding their own comments, most expressing their surprise, embarrassment, some in denial. During it all, Hinata kept her eyes on Naruto, he was blushing a little, rubbing the back of his next. It wasn't hard to tell he was a shy from all this attention, and unused to it being positive. It made her so happy for him. This would be his turning point. Now that they saw this side to him, the would try getting to know him and would see how fun and great of a person he was and slowly, ut surely his dream would come true!

"How do we know if it's real?"

Hinata paused her thoughts along with the rest of the room did when Ino spoke. All was quiet so she could continue. What did she mean by "if it's real"? Ino, wore a smug smile as she stood from her seat.

"He's been gone for quite a while." Ino said as she folded her arms, looking at random students."How do we know it's not... plastic surgery?" She whispered as if it were forbidden words.

P-plastic surgery!? Hinata couldn't believe the ridiculousness of it all. How could Ino even say such a thing? And did these people really believe her? Apparently they were considering the possibility, the crowd had started back up again at Ino's theory. Of course they would, this was coming from the girl who was able t spread rumors like wild fire and have others believe her.

It was infuriating! That was it! If there was a time to say something to In, it was now! There was no way that girl was going to attack Naruto, he was already sensitive about his looks. She quickly to from her seat and opened her mouth to say something , but someone else beat her to it.

"Not everyone has to undergo surgery like you to look good." The voice sounded annoyed, and tired even."Why don't you just shut up."

Ino scoffed, and everyone else was silence. Though no one knew who had said, but by the light Hinata saw in Naruto's eyes, he certainly did. But he didn't give it away by looking at the person And it seemed like whatever confidence he had lost from her comment was restored.

"Don't be jealous because I'm hot." He said, brushing off his shoulders to exempt his confidence ans then sent a smile Hinata's way. She hold back and smiled back, so proud to him this way. Being himself, protecting himself, having confidence in himself.

Ino,again, was at a loss for words, but quickly recovered."I'm not jealous." Even to her it sounder jealous. She took a breath and continued."Fine, he's good-looking. But that doesn't change anything. He's still strange and dangerous, remember all those other facts about him." She was talking about those other rumors. But she said facts instead.

Everyone was so unsure and confused how to feel about it all. Seeing this, Ino continued continued.

"And those whiskers..." She chuckled, gesturing to her own cheeks."Do I even have to continue."

Hinata couldn't read Naruto's face, it was stoic. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, she knew how sensitive he was about his birthmarks. She knew she had to think of something to say, she couldn't stand back and watch Naruto, her one and only true friend be tormented like this. But she couldn't think f anything, nothing at all. She was too consumed by her own emotions.

"No matter what he does, he's still a freak." Ino sighed as if it was disappointing. Sakura nodded her head as if convinced by her words."It's-"

SLAP!

It was sharp, stinging, clean and perfect. The sound echoed in her own ears, though, it took her a moment to comprehend what she had just done. Hyuga Hinata slapped Yamanaka Ino across the face. And the shock only silent this time, but horrifying. It was the moist shocking thing ever, more shocking than Naruto's face reveal. In fact, even Naruto was gawking along with the rest.

No one could believe, quiet, sweet, polite, angelic Hinata had slapped someone. Especially not her 'friend'' Ino. Ino was just as shocked everyone else. As was Hinata. She meant to say something to Ino, but instead her body reacted.

Ino blinked her eyes several times."Did you just...slap me?"

 _Yeah and I'd do it again. Just keep talking shit and see what happens._ Now that would be the cool, confident and tough thing to say. But, being Hinata..."Y-yes?" She tilted her head, flustered and scared."B-b-b-but I didn't mean to. Well, I did, B-but not like that. I-I meant to,w-w-what I m-meant to do was s-say something-"

Ino cut her off."Why did you slap me?" She asked, anger taking over her shock.

"Be-because, y-you...N-Naruto..."

"Did you just call him by his first name?"

"Y-yes.." Oh, she was not good with words.

"Why?"

"Because we're friends!" She shouted. And pinched her lips, and her eyes wandered to Naruto who was surprised by her honest outburst.

Ino rolled her eyes,"Why would you be friends with that freak? We're friends."

"Stop calling him that. And no we're not. We're just acting, that's all we ever do." She frowned, clenching her fist. "You're mean." She muttered under her breath, her head lowered and eyes on the ground. That sounded immature, but to her it was just the honest truth.

"What did you say?" Ino raised her voice and glared, pushing Hinata by her shoulder, and making her take a step back a bit.

Shutting her eyes Hinata lifted her head yelled back."I said you're a bitch!" She instantly realized her mistake. She meant to say bully. Bully! Clearly saying 'bitch' had more effect and impact.

Gasping was all around them, Ino scoffed."How dare you." And before she knew it, Ino had grabbed her by the back of the head with one hand.

"Ahh!" She squeaked, holding back a scream from the stinging pain. She was afraid Ino might yank the hair from her head.

"Apologize!" Ino demanded.

Hinata whimpered, but resisted. There was no apologizing, she told herself she'd be brave, she'd be better. Naruto had done his part, now it was her. She had something to prove.

Ino yanked harder,"OWW! Stop it!" Hinata yelled."Naruto, help!"

"What?" Naruto said, sounding utterly confused. Some time during her "conversation" with Ino, he had made it to the front of the crowd where Hinata was.

Sakura, who was standing next to Ino, tried to stop them."Come on guys, stop it. Ino, you know she didn't mean it." But even she sounded skeptical."Let's just apologize and hug and-"

"Shut up!" Ino screeched, shutting her up automatically and making the pinkette hang back. And she yanked at Hinata's hair again, still holding on tightly.

Hinata cried out again, reaching for her head and receiving another yank for her actions."Stop it!" She whispered.

"Hinata, what are you doing!" Naruto called to her."Don't just stand there and take it! Attack back, protect yourself! Where's that martial-artist-super-strength when you need it!"

It was so simple and obvious! Yet, she didn't figure it out until he yelled it at her. Now, Hinata did not condone violence. Of course she had a nature to attack when a male toughed her and she slapped Ino. But that was a defense mechanism, the first to protect herself, the second to protect Naruto. And she needed to protect herself now didn't she? She had defend herself just as Temari always did, and Naruto wads doing too now.

Hinata reached up and nabbed by her hai with both hands and, hesitantly, pulled. "AH!" Ino screamed, her head being forced back. In reply she grabbed Hinata's hair with her other hand and yanked. The real fight began there.

The students watched in utter horror as two of Konoha's Beauties wrestled with one another, it was a blurry fight. They slammed one another into walls and eventually ended up on the floor. The fight stopped when the teacher walked in.

"Sorry, I'm late guys. I was got lost walking the path of life and then our hall was crowd with students and-what's going on here?" Mr. Hatake frowned, immediately seeing his class crowed in one corner. They immediately dispersed, and Hinata and stood, trying to look civilized. But their frizzy hair, scratched and bruised faces said otherwise.

Slowly, the students in the hall left and the classroom students slowly and awkwardly made it to their seats, leaving only Hinata and Ino standing.

Mr. Hatake stared at the two and then finally asked."What happened?" He crossed his arms, looking serious for once.

Ino was quick to answered as usual."Hinata attacked me!"

Technically it was true, she was the first to slap her and call her a, ahem, "bitch". So, she remained quiet, knowing the truth of it all. But she then realized why would she do that! Ino was just as guilty.

"She verbally assaulted Naruto! She'd been doing ever since he got here!" She countered, surprising Ino."In fact, she's been verbally assaulting A LOT of people! Temari and Naruto are just her main victims." She huffed.

"What did you say?' Ino growled.

"Y-you heard me loud and clear. " She replied to Ino and turned back to their teacher."Sometimes she even gets physical! She's a bully!"

"Hey!" Ino barked.

"Hey, yourself!" Hinata yelled back.

Mr. Hatake raised his hand, silencing them both with his words."Okay, okay, quiet now." He said, looking them both over. Though he shut them up, he couldn't stop the electrifying glare they were giving each other.

"You both stay after school for your punishments." The teacher told them after a moment of thought."You two have a date with detention."

"What?" They both said simultaneously. Hinata sounding sad, Ino said sounding angry, but the both had the face of surprise. how could trhis happen to them? They never had detention.

"I never had detention before." Hinata spoke in distraught. Her clean streak! And her father would demand to know how this happened. If he heard she got into a fight, oh the horror!

"I guess this will be your first then, eh?" Mr. Hatake smirked under his mask. Hinata choked and silently dropped into her seat.

"I can't go to detention! I have things to do after school!" Ino protested. "And she attacked me first anyway! I was only defending myself. Ask anyone here."

This was the cue when the others were supposed to speak up for her. But no one said anything. How could they speak out against their princess, and especially after she just spoke up for them. Ino forgot who the people loved, and it was a little surprising to Hinata as well. She hadn't realized how much of an impression she had on the others until now. She expected to speak up for Ino.

Mr. Hatake smiled underneath his mask."I find it extremely hard to believe that Hinata would just _attack_ you. I'm sure you two had your reasons."

"But-"

"No buts. You both have detention. Now, why don't you both go to the nurse office?" Mr. Hatake raised an eyebrow. It wasn't a question, but a demand. Hinata stood and Ino sent her the deadliest glare possible before crossing her arms and stomping ahead.

Hinata stayed back, and glanced at Naruto, who was looking back at her. He offered an encouraging smile, which cheered her up a bit.

"Time to take attendance now." Mr. Hatake spoke up, no longer paying any heed to the situation that happened before."Oh, wait! I heard Namikaze Naruto was back." He looked back at the students, searching with his eyes.

"Here I am." Naruto stood from his seat, all smiles.

Mr. Hatake looked as if he had seen a ghost at that moment."N-Naruto?" It was strange to her that he called him by his first name. If she wasn't mistaken he had called him it before. But then again, maybe he was just so astonished to see Naruto looking this way just had they all wee.

"Yessir!" He nodded his head.

Mr. Hatake was quiet, taking in the sight before him. And as he replied, he sounded brighter than usual."You look great. I see you healed up alright."

"I feel great." Naruto replied, making Hinata smile. And then she felt the stinging on her scalp and a headache coming about. No more standing around, it was time to head to the nurses office. She looked back At Naruto one last time before leaving.

 **~.~**

"Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey."

Hinata's eyes slowed opened as she regained consciousness. She yawned into the palm of her hand and stared up at the white ceiling. her muddled brain, quickly became clear. She was sleeping in the nurses office. After the nurse cleaned and bandaged her up, she gave her some medicine for her headache and allowed her to rest for a while. So, how long had she been sleeping?

Sitting up and pulling the covers from her, she turned and found herself facing Naruto. He was sending a genuine smile her way."Just kidding." He said, and handed her boxed lunch."We don't have any eggs and bakey, I mean bacon. Just a bento box lunch, and me, ramen."

He picked up a cup of ramen that was sitting on the desk next her bed. He was acting so casual that it was a bit weird. Did he forget all the events that happened earlier today? "Okay." She held her bento lunch and opened it.

Lunch! She looked at the clock, just to confirm and she could of had a heart attack. She missed half of a school day! "I slept this long and missed this much school!" She couldn't belive it. And to top it off, she still had detention. She groaned.

"I know." Naruto nodded his head, ripping off the top to his ramen cup and watched as the steam rose from it."I'm jealous of you myself."

Hinata snorted at Naruto, finding his comment a bit funny."Haha." She sighed.

Naruto continued to smile at her."No use fretting about it now." He laughed."Come on, eat. You look horrible."

"What do you mean?" She asked, hesitantly. He had said this once before, when she had cried, and he was right. She didn't wait for him to answer and immediately looked at her reflection on her cellphones camera.

Her hair was a complete mess! It was frizzy and she struggled to smooth it down. He face was scratched up, but most of the scratches was covered by band aids. Still, she looked horrible, a mess!

"Oh god! I can't go home like this!" She whined. If she did her father would definitely know about her little hustle with Ino and her detention.

Naruto chuckled as he shoved a chopstick full of ramen into his mouth."It's not that bad!"

"You said yourself it looks horrible! And stop laughing." She buried her face into her hands. Her voice was shaking and wet, she was on the verge of tears. It wasn't just about detention and her father. It was all hard for her, she couldn't believe she fought Ino physically like that. And now she was sure she was a target of Ino's.

Hearing how serious she was Naruto stopped laughing and swallowed down his food."Did I say that? Hah, well you should have seen Ino. You looked much worse! You sure taught her lesson. I doubt she'll be messing with you again."

Hinata removed her hands from her face and looked him, her face lit up."R-really? She scratched me quite a bit, but i did bite her!"

"You bit her?"

"Th-that's a bad thing, isn't it?"

"Well, I mean, there was no real rules to the fight and she grabbed you hair first sooo. I say it was fair."

Hinata sighed."I do not condone fighting."

"But you had to admit, slapping Ino must have felt good." Naruto smirked at her knowingly.

"Naruto!"

her continued to smirk at her.

"Okay, it did feel pretty good." she admitted, bashfully smiling a little.

"I knew it!"

"Still, this is not something we should be proud of." She tried to say seriously, but found herself chuckling.

"Yeah, but you were totally awesome! A hero!"

Hinata rolled her eye good-naturedly."You don't have to lay it on thick."

"I'm serious, you were a like 'I said you're a bitch'!" He tried mimicking her voice like her, which was hilarious and embarrassing."You were so awesome."

It was really just her shouting and saying things that she didn't mean to say. She blushed, feeling embarrassed, she didn't think anyone would think her panic talk was cool.

"And when you said I was your friend." Naruto smiled quietly, looking embarrassed himself."I was really really really happy." His words were so sweet and sincere.

That was the one thing she meant to say."Yeah...well you are." She smiled."You were pretty awesome yourself. I couldn't believe you talked back to Ino like that. That was awesome."

"Yeah, well after you kissed me like that, I felt really really really good and charged! And confident." He laughed and she laughed along with him, to mask the embarrassment she felt. Goodness, she had never felt more embarrass ever than today."Everybody is going to think differently about you after this."

Hinata nodded her head, though she felt calm about it all. It was a bit surprisingly, she had always cared so much about her image, to the students and to everyone. But now, she didn't care that she looked pretty rough in front of Naruto twice, he didn't mind. Or that she just had a fight with Ino and called her a bitch. And here was why.

"I don't really care what they think about me..." She said slowly, her hands loosening around her bento box."I only care what you think of me."

Naruto didn't look surprised by her words, but touched and sensitive about. He chuckled goofily and replied after a whole minute of no words."Yeah, well, I think you're super cool."

Hinata gave him a full blast grin at the sincerity of his words, feeling elated. More elated than ever."I think you're pretty awesome too."

"It took you this long t figure that out, huh?" They sat their giving each other big goofy grins, feeling more victorious than ever! Though they knew they still had a long way to go, it was a good start.

Picking up her chopsticks, Hinata grabbed an octopus shaped sausage and set in his ramen cup."Have some." She said. It could't be healthy to eat ramen all the time. And [she felt like sharing. Maybe she should start making him bento boxes as well, if his mother did't make him some anyway.

"Thanks." Naruto accepted the sausage without question and thought offer her some of his own lunch. And that was how they ended up sharing their whole meals. It was nice and peaceful, very calming considering everything that happened today.

When they finished Naruto sat back, satisfied. "I did good today, right?"

"Of course you did." Hinata nodded her head, still sitting on the cot. She looked at the clock on the wall and knew they still had time before lunch ended. What should they do now? But she didn't have to think about it long, because Naruto was sitting up straight and looking at her seriously. "W-what is it?"

He licked his bottom lip nervously before asking."Aren't you going to tell me now." He paused,."You know, why you're afraid of boys."

Oh. That.

"You said you'd tell me, if I gave it my all."

She sighed, slumping her shoulders."I know."

"You don't have to if you don't want to." He quickly said.

Hinata shook her head."I do want to. I just haven't exactly told anyone about it." Sh sighed aain, this time rather heavily."But, I think I'd feel okay, relieved even if I tell you."

Naruto remained silent and waited for her to continue. And Hinata's finger played with the sheets on her cot. It was so difficult to speak. Her chest clenched when she even thought about it. It was getting hard for her to breath. Her brain was getting full of fuzz. But when she looked up into Naruto's clear blue and understanding eyes, it all cleared.

"Where should I start?" she sighed, looking straight back at him."It all started during kindergarten."

* * *

 _Dundundun! It has been so long since a updated! A matter of sixteen days I do believe! I'm so sorry guys, I've been busy, and a bit lazy, but mainly busy! No, I'm not going on hiatus or discontinuing this story. I plan to finish it to the very last chapter. So, i hope you guys stick with it._

 _To be honest I was supposed to update this last night, but got late, and I was tired. Again I apologize. But Like I said, this chapter was very eventful, was it not? I hoped you guys enjoyed it as much as I did._

 _The next chapter Hinata's past will be revealed along with other things. But do yuou guys want a flash back or just her explaining it? I don't know which one I'll be doing, but it'll be nice to hear what you guys want or something._

 _So please leave a review as usual wirh your thoughts and such and for those who are new to it, please follow and favorite and review as well! Thank you!_

 _Little Miss Kairi out~!_


	13. Hinata's Past and Her New Presence

**Hinata's Past and Her New Presence**

* * *

 _It all started during kindergarten."_

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _I was young back then, naive and my thoughts of boys were...different than they are now. Of course, when you're little, your opinion of the opposite sex is always different and usually always immature. For me, it was the same thought process as most girls at the age of six had. Boys were loud, obnoxious, annoying, and gross. So, because of that stereotype, I stayed clear of them and ignored them. I simply wanted nothing to with them._

 _But...Not to be arrogant or anything, I was the prettiest girl in school. Who just happened to extremely dislike boys. So, that's why it started at kindergarten. I was constantly picked on by all of the boys._

 _And I can't say I blame them, I held contempt for them without a real reason. But, still, I was just a little girl. So, it was bullying none the less and since I was such a quiet girl it was the worst. Tripping me all the time, calling me mean names, pushing me around, cutting up my belongings, ruining my favorite clothes, the list goes on. I can remember each and every little thing so perfectly._

 _Sadly, it didn't go away as I got older, in fact, it got worse. It was plain abuse I'd say, they were so-so mean. And because of this, my mentality of boys stayed the exact same of that of a kindergartner. I hated them, but more so, I was scared of them._

 _I didn't have any female friends who stayed by my side, mainly because of their jealousy. It wasn't as if I wanted the attention from the male kind. I wanted the opposite in fact! So, I was alone, meek and terrified._

 _There was this one boy, though, back in middle school, he was my main tormentor. He liked me, but he had a disturbing way of showing it. It wasn't cute in any way. And it wasn't okay. He terrified me. Not to mention, he had his own little gang. They picked on me daily._

 _Suddenly, there was this other guy who came into my life. Who was nice, really nice, a change from my usual experience from the male kind. I was suspicious of him at first but eventually, I warmed up to him. And...he wasn't exactly a friend, though. I kind of_ liked _him._

"You liked him?" Naruto inquired, pursing his lips."Who was this guy exactly? Do you still hang around him? Is he handsome?" He narrowed his eyes slightly at Hinata. But she simply sighed.

"That's not what's important. He has nothing to do with my fear of boys." She shrugged a shoulder, wanting to really get back on point.

"Yes." Naruto said, slowly and leaned in."But, he was your first love, was he not?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hinata hesitated. This confirmed it.

"Seeing how you aren't saying thing. It must have been also been an unrequited love." He added, watching her carefully.

She cleared her throat, feeling a cough come up. How did he see through so well?

Naruto smiled, though he tried to hide it behind his hand."Wow. So it was?" Seeing Hinata glare at him, he wiped it away.

"Fine, it was. Now that you know that, are you happy?" She asked, mockingly.

Naruto nodded his head in a happy matter indeed."Very." And that smile of his came back.

Hinata shook her head at him, but somehow she found herself smiling. It was so strange. Here she was trying to explain a her trauma which meant delving into her difficult experiences. Yet, somehow, just a few words exchanged between the two of them she was relaxed and smiling even. Strange, but good. Especially since she was finally getting to the roots. The gritty nitty.

Just thinking about it still brought back the pain. She took one more deep breath, before continuing.

 _So, for that aspect of my life things were looking up for me. Though, it was during my last year of middle school when I became...like this. Completely traumatized and afraid._

 _I can remember a lot of things about my past clearly. And this one, I remember especially. But sometimes, it's fuzzy and hard to get out. It fades in and put. I know why, though, it because I try to forget about it completely. That never happens, though._

Hinata's hand clenched tightly on her lap and she took a deep breath. _Don't freak_. She told herself and continued.

 _It was at the end of the school day. Everyone was heading home, but I headed to the park. I had plans. I was, well, I was going to confess. So, there I was waiting for him to come when..._

 **Flashback**

A fourteen-year-old Hinata gently and very nervously rubbed the tip of her the on the ground as she waited patiently. She knew that he should be arriving any minute now. He was never late and always kept his promise. And she knew that he would keep a promise to her especially. It was one reason she liked him so much, he was easy to rely on.

And anyway, she had even baked him a batch of cookies. They said a way to a man's heart is through their stomach and he loved her cooking anyway. It was a win-win. She chuckled at herself for thinking that.

In all seriousness, though. She was a gigantic ball of nerves. And each second she waited felt like an hour, she constantly found herself looking at her watch to check the time when she already knew it wasn't late. In fact she was just incredibly early, but she couldn't help it. She was just too excited!

So after a whole minute of agonizing waiting, she decided to practice her speech. She cleared her throat as she faced the tree which sheltered under from the hot sun."S-senior..." she coughed into her fist again. Thar wasn't right. She had to stop stuttering."Senior." Perfect.

"I've like you for a while now." She breathed and shut her eyes."For a really long time. And...and I know you're a bit older than me. But just a bit!" She added the last part frantically and opened her eyes.

"I'm not asking you to be with now. No, I just want to tell you how I feel. And want you to return those feeling. And if-if you really do feel the same way..." She gulped."Then, wait for me!" She said dramatically staring at the tree as if it was the only thing that mattered, that ever mattered.

Hinata smiled brilliantly to herself feeling pleased with her rehearsal and even triumphant though it wasn't the real deal. "Perfect." She whipped around and just like that her smile melted away and was replaced by a stoic face.

Standing in front of her was not her beloved senior, but her greatest tormentor. The one who had been picking on her since the start of middle school. She even gave him a silly nickname. 'Biff' from the movie _Back to the Future_. She felt it fit him perfectly since how they were almost identical.

And whenever biff was around his gang wasn't far behind. Speak of the devil, emerging from behind him were his two goonies.

"Hina-hina." he called her out teasingly."Are you in love with this tree here?" He asked, gesturing to the tall tree as he slowly approached her. Hinata took a step back for every step he took forward.

"J-just l-leave m-me alone, _Biff_." She spat, glaring daggers at him.

Biff simply rolled his eyes as his boys surrounded Hinata. She was cautious to keep a distance from all of them as much as she could. But that left her in the center of their little circle.

"So, I take it it's not the tree you love." Biff said and his goons chuckled."What's that?" He asked pointing at her small blue gift bag. Instinctively, Hinata hugged it her chest. Of course, that didn't stop them. It only made them violent. They were always rough.

One of Biff's goons grabbed both Hinata's arms and not-so-gently yanked her, in doing so, she whimpered and her grip on the bag loosened. This allowed Biff easily snatched the bag away. He looked inside and smiled.

"Aww, are these for me?" He asked, placing a hand on his chest.

Hinata didn't say a word but instead stared at the bag intensely. She watched as he took out a cookie and slowly unwrapped in from the wrapping. "Stop it! Give it back!" she yelled and shook off his goonie, only taking a step forward.

"Why? It's for me."

"No, it's not!" Hinata stomped forward and snatched it from his hands."It's for Senior!" She huffed. Though, she realized her mistake too late. She was rough and she mentioned her Senior. Biff hated him with a strong passion. Why? Because he knew she must have liked him, and he just enjoyed taking away any of her happiness.

"Your beloved Senior, huh?' He scoffed, his face twisting into a deep and ugly frown."I guess the one your 'confessing' to was your senior as well?"

She was silent. Answering him yes.

Biff was now fuming with anger. "Give me that!" He snatched away the bag from her once again, but Hinata tried to reach for it. So, he pushed her with an enough force to knock her off her feet.

Then he ripped paper gift bag up in his blind fury, Hinata watched in despair as the cookies fell to the ground and then he proceeded to stomp them in the grass and dirt.

Tears perked the corners of Hinata's eyes, but she refused to cry. Instead, she stood up and balled up her fist tightly at her sides and gave him the deadliest glare she could manage. When Biff saw this he was shocked, of course, Hinata had glared at him before, many times. But this was different. This time, he could see the hate and disgust that she felt for him rolling off her.

"Who are you looking at like that." He shoved her, and once again making her fall on her butt.

Hinata bounced back up and screamed at him."I hate you!" No stuttering included.

This time, Biff took a step back, he looked 'hurt'? But it didn't matter because he was back to being his furious self in no time."You hate me?! What is it you like about that Senior of yours, huh!" He screamed right back at her, but she stood her ground. and remained defiant.

Biff clenched his teeth, and continued to glare at her."I asked you a damn question!"

"He's everything you're not!" She yelled back."How's that for an answer."

Everything seemed to go silent as the two hod eye contact. And then he snorted, and rubbed the back of his neck looking very much stressed."I don't believe it." He mumbled.

"Believe what you want."

One of the goons too a step forward and started."Maybe Hinata's that type of girl."

Biff looked at his goon, with a slightly confused face."What do you mean?" He asked, and even Hinata herself looked in his direction.

"You know." He smirked, and to be honest that smirk of his scared something in Hinata. "There's no way their relationship could be that innocent. Especially when Hinata has.." He passed to look her up and down."Developed so nicely and earlier than the other girls."

Biff smiled. Hinata's face went pale. This was not going anywhere good."You know what, you're right." He began circling Hinata and her insides wen hollow as she was now consumed with fear. She wanted to go.

He so gently moved a strand of her hair onto her shoulder, making Hinata shiver."Maybe that's why you like you precious Senior so much."

"N-n-n-no..." She couldn't even get a proper word out.

"Oh! There's our shy and nervous Hinata. She's back!" Biff chucked and his goons did the same."You must be embarrassed because we figured it out. You dirty-dirty girl." He licked his bottom lip.

 _Run. Run!_ She kept telling herself, but her body wouldn't move.. It was frozen in place.

"Well, since you like it so much." He smirked, making her stomach churn. She could puke right about now."Two can play at the game.." He grabbed the collar of her shirt with one hand and with a fast and strong pull, brought her close to him, and planted a hard kiss on her lips. Before it could go any farther she pushed him away from her and stumbled backward, bumped into one of his goons.

He grabbed her arms in a tight grip, digging his fingers into her skin, she was sure it'd leave bruises."STOP IT!" She screamed."This isn't funny!" She tried her best wriggle out of his grasp.

"Is that how you like it? Rough?" Biff smirked, and something died Hinata, who knows, it might have been herself."Alright boys, let's have a little fun and give it to her the way she likes it, eh?"

Tears were now piercing Hinata's eyes."Please-please, don't do this." The tears she held back, were now spilling. "Please." She begged.

Biff looked startled for a moment, but it was no use. He had already made his decision. And anyway, this wasn't this first time he made her cry. So, he simply sighed as if seeing this was a bother."Let's get started boys."

And it started with the front of her shirt being ripped open, the buttons popping out an flying everywhere. Hinata screamed an ripped her arms from the boys grasp and tried to cover herself.

But they just laughed at her fear and distress, it wasn't a maniacal laugh either, it was like they were laughing at something truly funny. And this made her feel worse if that was even possible.

"Now I see why they call you Hinatits." One of the goons laughed.

"Very fitting name, is it not?" Biff chuckled and grabbed Hinata by the back of he shirt, pulling her into him.

Hinata cried, terrified and moved away from him, but close enough for one of the goons to grab her. Their little circle was impossible for her to escape. And before she knew it, she was being pushed around by the three of them.

It was really fast and but blurs to the panicking girl, consumed with could of course still feel their hands on her body, touching her, grabbing tightly onto her flesh., And sickened her, she wanted to faint, to die, to just lose consciousness. But she couldn't.

All she did was cry and scream, and soon enough she couldn't even scream. Her throat had gone dry and hoarse.

Though in that one flash of a moment when she was launched at Biff, she felt a flash of immense anger and that's all she need. When she came to him, she dragged her nails down his face. And that was enough to stop their game.

He yelled in pain and lightly touched his injury, when he brought his hand away and looked at it there was blood."You little whore!" He growled.

And Hinata wasted no time tying to make an escape. As soon as she turned around, Biff grabbed her by her hair and yanked so hard, she knew for a fact that he pulled some hair out. The result was that she fell hard on to the ground. She was sure she sprained something.

"Hold her!" Biff commanded and the goons yielded. They kneeled down and each grabbed an arm of hers tightly. There was no escaping this.

Biff crouched down ad glared at Hinata."I was planning on letting you go after we finished our game. But then you had to go and hurt me like that." He spat into the dirt and looked back at her."I think I should return the favor tenfold. don't you?"

Hinata's stopped breathing at this point. She couldn't speak. Even if she could, she wasn't sure what she could say. Here eyes stayed focus on Biff, though. His hands answered from her leg and to her thigh. And this was getting worse. She opened her mouth to let out the loudest scream if she still could. But, Biff had grown tired of her mouth.

So, he grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and spoke lowly."Watch it! Or else I won't be so nice. I'll-"

"Hinata! Are you here?" A voiced called out, coming closer to where they were. Hinata recognized that voice anywhere. It was Senior. Then she started crying all over again.

"Buff stood up quickly along with his goons."Crap, let's get out of here!" He told his partners and crime and they run away from the scene.

Hinata just balled up on the ground and continued to sob. She couldn't think of anything else or what to do next, but cry. What else was she supposed to do after that? Her Senior came to the scene, seeing her in her messy state. He tried to comfort her, but she refused to let him touch her. How could she? After what happened to her. It was just too much.

 **Flashback Over**

"I-I keep thing to forget everything that happened that day. And sometimes it's almost like a do." Hinata told Naruto, but it was more like she was talking to herself, voicing her thoughts. "I never really told anyone else about this at all." She sniffled.

The Hyuga didn't dare look at Naruto, she just stared down at her lap and breathed. During her story telling she had begun crying silently. She wasn't sure if Naruto noticed or not, but she hoped he didn't.

"I mean, it's just so painful. All of if I forget, my body doesn't. Even if my mind knows it's going to be okay, my body doesn't believe it." She balled up fist tightly."It just reacts. And I hate it. I hate being afraid and always having to hide. But hate it more ever since I met you." She took a deep breath and quickly wiped away her tears. Saying all that on her mind, admitting it, telling to someone else, it relieved her. A weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

After figuring she got all he tears she looked back up to see Naruto. She didn't know what his reaction to this story might be. But she was not expecting it to be a neutral face. He looked calm and quiet, but it was scary. It wasn't so simply, it was like the quiet before the storm.

"So, you never told anyone?" Naruto asked, ever so carefully.

Hinata shook her head,"I wanted to, but...Biff and his friends were teacher's pets. They only ever showed their true colors around me and Senior. Not to mention, biff's father was pretty up there in power. So, no one would have believed me and would hurt me more than them."

"But-but what about your family? Your family, you must have told them, right?" Naruto frowned slight, looking a bit desperate. But he already knew that she didn't/ So, why would he ask such a pointless question.

"No, how could I?" Hinata bit he bottom lip."Hanabi looks up to me, and my father. It would destroy him to know what happened to the eldest daughter of the Hyuga family." She shook her head once again."I couldn't tell them and I don't think I'll ever be able to. So, I simple transferred t another school. And I never saw Those guys I stopped seeing Senior."

Naruto had a pained incredulous look on his face."So, all this time you were suffering on your own? No body to share your pain with, just because you didn't want to let the others down?"

Hinata stared at Naruto, unsure how to reply. And she didn't know how, but his reaction to it all was so much more than just about what happened to her.

"And those guys!" Naruto stood up from his seat, furious. So furious, it frightened pour Hinata."They just got away scot-free! No way! No way, that's just not right!They have to pay for what they did! If not, then you, you're just!"

"Naruto, calm down. It's okay."

"No, it's not okay Hinata! It's not!" Naruto yelled, making Hinata jump. Seeing this, he tried calming down. But he still looked very much hurt.

He continued."I'm sorry. But you say it's okay, when you know it's not. You were hurt, Hinata. And not telling your family, when something did happen to you. They made you so afraid of the other sex. They hurt you badly and it's not alright. And I know you think you're doing it for them, but I'm sue they'd be hurt to know you kept this from them and just lived with it."

Hinata stared closed at Naruto and watched as he slowly sat back down. He was quiet now, and she could tell he was thinking about something else. Something she didn't know about."Naruto?"

"Oh, sorry." He looked back at her."I was just thinking..."

"You're right it isn't okay. And I should have done something. But back then, I felt I was alone and i didn't have anyone I could tell with trust." She told him."But now I do, I have you, I can tell you now. Whenever I'm in pain or need help, I'll just tell you." She was hesitant, but she leaned over and laid her hand on top of his fist.

Naruto stared at her hand and his fist loosened."You mean it?" He asked, looking her straight in the face.

"Yes." Hinata replied, staring right back.

After hearing that, Naruto loosened."Good. Good." He smiled and she returned it. It was so much better to just smile then feel grave. Though, after telling him her story, she wanted to hear all his. But right now probably wasn't the best, she concluded.

"So, are pretty sure, it's way past lunch time." She mused.

"It is." Naruto confirmed.

"So let's see, I have detention, and I'm late for class. Wow, this is first."

The blonde held open his arms and said dramatically."Welcome to my world."

Hinata shook her head."So, what did you do without me?"

"Oh, just hung out with a friend." Naruto said ever so causally.

"Eh?" Hinata was confused. Hung out with a friend? That made zero since. Hung out with a friend? How was that possible. She thought she was his only friend? When did he make a friend? And how was it that he made a new fried when she was sure that she had just lost hers? Even if they were fake, still. "You did, huh?"

"Yep." Naruto nodded his head."He's really cool."

So it was a guy? It was good for Naruto to make friends of his sex too, but still, she was afraid of males and was only just warming up to Naruto.

"I know, but I think you and him could be friends too, even if it takes time."

"I still don't understand. When did you make this friend of yours?"

"Well, I met him a while back -"

"You mean you knew him before me!" Hinata blinked.

"Yes, no, well we didn't really talk until two days ago."

So they started talking on Saturday? But she was with him on Saturday, so how could she not know! Well, at least his social skills were working. she supposed that practice they had must have helped.

"Then we became friends today." Naruto concluded.

"That's nice." Hinata smiled, she was happy for him. But she was a little unsettled about how fast he made a friend. Especially on a day like today. She expected to take a little more time and effort before he started officially befriending others.

Naruto nodded his head."He's the guy that spoke up for me in the classroom today."

Now this made Hinata raise an eyebrow.

"Yep, I told him to come by the nurse's office so I could introduce you two and all -"

"Huh? What? I'm a mess!"

"Yeah. But he saw how you became a mess, so I didn't really think it was a big deal." he shrugged."Besides, lunch is over and class has started, so, he won't be coming."

Hinata sighed, relieved. She was not ready to meet Naruto's new friend yet.

As if on cue, the door slid open. Naruto and Hinata turned their heads, curious to see who came in. It was someone she couldn't recognize. He was tall, had dark hair and pale skin. He stared at the two through his dark red, almost black, glasses. When his eyes landed on Hinata, he glared slightly which surprised her. Usually, when people, guys look at her they smile or become shy, not glare!

Though, something about him seemed awfully familiar. She couldn't put her tongue on it, though. Who was he?

Naruto grinned and stood from his seat."Sasuke!"

Hinata blinked. Sasuke?

"I didn't know we were already on first name basis," Sasuke replied, walking over to them. Though he didn't sound mad about Naruto calling him by his first name.

Naruto simply chuckled."Oh, don't worry. I and Hinata were on first name basis before we even became friends."

When she thought back to it, it was true. But that was really only because he forced her hand. "yeah." She said slowly and stood up, but made sure, she was sligtly behind Naruto. Sasuke may have been Naruto's new friend, but he was still a boy.

"So, Hyuga Hinata this is Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke, this is Hyuga Hinata." Naruto gestured to them one another.

Sasuke resumed his slight glare at her."I know who she is."

"Of course you do! She is the most popular girl in our school." Naruto replied.

But Hinata was sure that the dark haired teen didn't mean he knew her that way. How did they know her? And why was he so familiar. She watched him carefully. He scratched his neck underneath his pair of headphones around his neck. Headphones. Those headphones. Oh!

Hinata silently gasped. Oh yes, now she knew why he was so familiar. He was that guy she beat up in the hall way on the day Temari yelled at her. That time she was so emotional and in a rush,she didn't even think or try to control to mention she forgot all about him. at the time she had bigger problems.

So, he just had to show up now, as Naruto's friend too! She already had enough problems! But maybe he doesn't remember. She stared at him and smiled slightly.

The Uchiha raised a brow at her."Do you not remember me? we had a _'run-in'_ in the hallway a few days back." So he did remember, and he didn't look happy about it.

"Ahh, I-I do now." She said nervously.

Naruto blinked and looked at the two, oblivious to what was going on."You guys already know each other?"

"You can say we are _acquainted_." Sasuke folded his arms and slyly glared at Hinata, she moved more behind Naruto.

"Really? You know what?" Naruto grinned once again."I have a feeling, the three of us are going to be the best of friends."

Hinata wasn't so sure about that.

* * *

 _Knock-knock, is anyone there? I sure do hope so. I am so sorry for just now updating! It's been what? Over a month! That's just too long, so I'm hopping that you guys are still there! I really just can't leave this fanfiction unfinished. I know how that feels, to read a fanfiction and it's just discontinued! I know my upload is late, but it's still going on!_

 _So, I hope to redeem myself slightly by adding an extra thousand words. Also, I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter! Yes, I didn't tell Biff and Seniors real names on purpose. Tell me your thoughts and other things, leave a review, you know how much I love reading what you guys think and so!_

 _Favorite, follow, review, all of that love!_

 _Little Miss Kairi~!_


	14. Clear

_Clear_

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Laying her head on her desk, Hinata looked out the window to her side, watching the sun rise. People say when you're happy you see the beauty around you've never paid attention to before. But for Hinata, she could see it right now, even when she was sad, confused or distressed. How beautiful it looked, lighting up the sky and everything else. And how big it was, yet irrelevant to her current situation.

It was early in the morning, earlier than the time she usually arrived at school. But she decided it was the best time to get there especially considering all the issues she would have to deal with. Like Ino, the other day after detention, she rushed home without so much as a word to the blonde. She was so tired that day, it would be too much to talk with her again. So, she said her goodbyes to Naruto and departed.

And she was sure, he wasn't so sad to see her go, he had Sasuke to hang out with too now. Which made her feel...well, a bit unsettled? No, it was something else. She couldn't say what, though.

Still, that Uchiha Sasuke...What would she do about him? He clearly wasn't fond of her, but he seemed to get along with Naruto rather well. And Naruto liked him. There was no way she was getting in between that. So, she should just learn to get along with him, right?

Then again, it kind of felt like Uchiha came between them! They were no longer Hinata and Naruto! They were now Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke. No longer a party of two but three. And not to be bias or anything, but she liked the sound of Hinata and Naruto better.

Groaning, Hinata lifted her head and banged it against the wood surface of her desk, and immediately regretted it. "Ahh." She whined and brought her hand up to rub her aching.

When she looked ahead of her, she froze, her eyes meeting blue. Across from her, sat Naruto, watching her curiously. A heartbeat skipped before she straightened herself and pushed her hair behind her shoulder."N-Naruto, when d-did ou get here?" She asked. The girl couldn't have seen him come in, she was looking the opposite way, but she should have at least heard him, right?

"A few minutes ago." He smiled at her generously."you didn't notice me."

Seeing him smile, made her smile, her mood lifted."You should have said something."

"I would have, but you looked like you were thinking about something deeply." He shrugged a shoulder and laid his chin in the palm of his hand as he continued to watch her. "So, how could interrupt."

"Aren't you thoughtful."

Naruto smirked playfully,"Of course. I've been called the most thoughtful person, by this one girl."

Hinata frowned slightly. What girl? Did he have moe friends she didn't know about? "What-" She began but was cut off by the way he was looking at her. His eyes were full of amusement. And then it dawned on her."Aha!" She laughed."Me? Ah, I did say that, didn't I?" A shy smile graced her lips.

"Yep. When you said that, it made my heart flutter." Naruto told her casually.

Hinata blinked her eyes, unsure whether he was serious or not. Nonetheless, something in her stirred at his words."Oh, wow, you really are a flirt ,huh?"

Naruto sighed."I suppose so."

The Hyuga giggled and shook her head at him."So, what are you doing here so early?"

"Because I knew you'd be here so early," Naruto answered, and put down his hands, touching his stomach, or what she thought was his stomach, she really couldn't tell because the back of his chair was blocking her view. But he was wearing a slightly distracted face.

"How'd you know that?" She asked, genuinely curious. It wasn't as she had told him, he was too busy with Uchiha.

Naruto looked back to her, once again focused."Yesterday, you went to school earlier than usual to avoid trouble. But you ended up getting right in the center of it." He smirked."So, I figured you'd come even earlier than last time. You know, because you still have issues to solve and all."

"You're right." Hinata sighed, feeling down at the mention of the mess she would have to work through. Though, she didn't dare tell him that one of the problems was Sasuke."I know I can't avoid it or hide from it. We promised to be brave, but I don't want to deal with it immediately."

"Ahh, the life of a beautiful, smart, and popular high school girl must be tough, huh?" Naruto mocked, making a sad , sympathetic face.

Hinata giggled again, her spirits soaring back up again.

Naruto grinned, seeing her happy again."Well, I'll know what it'll be like to be that popular soon enough, eh?"

She nodded her head eagerly."Of course you well. I gave you my word after all."

"I know." He then wiggled a little, looking uncomfortable.

Hinata furrowed her eyebrows, gave him a concerned look."Are you okay?" She inquired, ready to help him at any moment.

"Yeah." He assured her with a smile."It's just, well, the thing is. Hinata, remember when I was sick?"

"How could I? You nearly scared me half to death."

"Yeah, well, when you visited me, I told you the reason I got sick was because I got distracted out in the rain."

Hinata blinked."And you told me you'd show me what it was later."

"Yes! And that's it, I brou-"

The door slid open, interrupting Naruto. And of course, of course! Sasuke walked inside, carrying his bag. And just like that, her good mood plummeted again. Well, she supposed it wasn't that bad.

"Sasuke!"

It was cute to see Naruto excited and all, but still... The Uchiha looked at Naruto and gave a little wave before he noticed Hinata, and then, of course, she received a subtle yet quick glare. Hinata wasn't sure what to do when he did that. So, she kept a blank face.

He approached them and turned to Naruto, completely ignoring Hinata's existence. "Arent you in the wrong seat, Naruto."

"Oh, you're right." He chuckled sheepishly, and stood up, holding his stomach, which stuck out more than usual. He took careful steps to his seat, behind Hinata. Uchiha looked satisfied and then went t his seat in the very front and set his bag on the hook underneath his desk.

"I'm glad you're, I was about to show Hinata, and that you're here. I can show you both at the same time!" Naruto chatted very energetically.

"Show us what?" Hinata asked, very curious. Uchiha as well, looked very curious, even walking over to get a better look at whatever it was that

Naruto waved his hand in front of Hinata's face and spoke,"Watch and be amazed." He whispered mysteriously. And then he began to lift his vest.

Though, before he could even pull it half way up, Hinata interrupted, quickly jumping from his seat. Her actions started Naruto and Uchiha both. "Wha-what are you doing?!" She sputtered, demanding an answer. Her heart was palpitating and her breathing shallowed. But more obviously, she was flustered.

They both gave her a confused look, but Naruto caught on first."Ah."

"She is right, though, what are you doing getting undressed so suddenly?" Sasuke inquired first.

"I'm sorry, really." Naruto apologized sincerely. His apology was more directed at Hinata, knowing her condition."It was stupid of me to just do that without warning. I wasn't thinking."

Hinata clutched the sides of her skirt tightly, trying to calm herself down. But she was so much more aware of that fact that she was in a room alone with two boys. It frightened her, but she closed her eyes and forced herself to think, ignoring her body's reaction.

The first thing she concluded by her heart first was that Naruto would never hurt her. And then her brain came to realized this, and once that happened, she was able to stabilize herself more.

But, to be more comfortable, he moved closer to Naruto, away from Uchiha. Her body at least knew that it could trust Naruto, but she herself was still unsure of Sasuke. "You can't just randomly do that."

"I know, and I'm sorry." He apologized again and began lifting his vest again."It's just that I have underneath-"

The door slid open once again and Naruto quickly forced down his vest."Now, what is it!" He whined, looking toward the entrance along with Hinata and Uchiha.

It was none other than Yamanaka Ino. Hinata sighed, she knew she was going to have to deal with this problem sooner or later. She was just hoping it would be later.

The girl stared at Hinata, almost glaring. Her eyes did wonder to Sasuke and Naruto once. She stared harder at Naruto the most. She sighed and crossed her arms over her chest and her eyes then landed back on the Hyuga.

"We need to talk. Don't worry, it'll be quick." Ino said, wearing a straight face.

Naruto stood up from his seat."If you have something to say. Say it here." He demanded, speaking for Hinata.

Ino rolled her eyes and her straight face turned into a frown.

"It's okay, Naruto." Hinata smiled at him reassuringly. She knew she'd have to talk with Ino, and she was sure the long haired pale blonde wouldn't abuse her. At least no physically.

Naruto looked to Hinta."But...Alright." He still appeared a little worried."Don't take to long."

"Sure." Hinata nodded and followed her out into the hallway. They didn't stop there, they continued away from te classroom. Hinata guessed so no one would eavesdrop on them, Naruto in particular.

They continued on their way until the reached the stairway, they stopped in front of them. Hinata watched as Ino's shoulders moved up then down by her loud and dragged out sigh. Slowly, she turned her back away from Hinata and faced her. This was their moment to 'talk'. The only thing was...Hinata didn't know how to start or what to say? All that fire she had the other day seemed to burn out. Now, things seemed awkward more than anything.

And anyway, she didn't want to fight with Ino. She just wanted things to be cleared up between them so she wouldn't get attack or so without expecting it. She also wantedIno to she wouldn't stand her treatment of others anymore.

Ah,and there you have it. She now knew what to say and how to start. But of course, Ino beat her to the punch and spoke first.

"So, I take what happen yesterday was more than just a silly little outburst?" Ino asked looking a bit agitated, though she asked she knew the answer already. She just wanted to confirm it.

And confirm it Hinata did. The Hyuga nodded her head. "Yeah. We did fight pretty viciously and all..." She said feeling awkward once again.

Ino nodded her head once."And what does that mean?"

"W-what do you think it means?" Hinata inquired, genuinely curious what the blonde girl thought.

"That we're no longer friends, or whatever we were in the first place," Ino said.

Hinata pinched her lips and felt suddenly a bit sad. Sure, Ino wasn't a nice person and she wasn't too close with Sakura and her. But those two were the people she felt the most comfortable with, or as comfortable as she could get, in the school. When she first started attending this school, Ino pulled her under her wing and protected her. And Sakura made her feel more at ease. They weren't friends, hiding secrets from one another, but they were something.

It was ironic in a way. Sakura and Ino were her shields because she was weak,but now she was getting stronger and even became a shield for someone else.

Ino sighed, seeing how Hinata was silent she was right. "I always had a feeling something like this might happen. You were always the nice one and all..."

"I can't just sit back and watch you torment others anymore. It's wrong." She replied."I was nice because I thought it would make up for ignoring their pain." It was best, to be honest and straightforward with her.

Ino scoffed."So, what? Are you trying to be a hero now? You have to be even more loved than you already are?"

"It's not like that. I just want to stop being so afraid all the time and having to hide." She shrugged her shoulders."I want to live honestly."

"Sure." Ino rolled her eyes."And fine. Do what you want. But, I do have one last question for you, then we can go our separate ways or whatever."

Hinata blinked."What could that be?"

"Why Naruto?" Ino questioned, seriously looking for an answer.

"What-"

"Did you not hear the rumors about him? They're not only rumors."

Hinata clenched her fist at her sides becoming increasingly frustrated with Ino. Those two sentences were enough to fire her up. She knew where Ino was going with this. Did she always have to be this way? Picking at other people?

If Ino had said this to Hinata before she started to talk to Naruto, the Hyuga would have doubted her decision. But Hinata was more confident not only in Naruto but in herself now. Though she had a long way to go before she became completely confident, she still had enough to tell Ino off.

"Oh? You mean those rumors you spread?" She bit.

Ino looked a little frightened by her sassy reply, but it was only because she still wasn't used to this side of Hinata. She quickly recovered and responded."Not all of the were told by me. And anyway, they're true. Where do you think I got them from? Not out of thin air, they're too horrible to be invented."

Hinata huffed,"Then what about the one about him being an ugly beast? Because if I recall he's the exact opposite of ugly. He's beautiful!"

Ino was taken aback once again by Hinata's sudden outburst. She gazed at Hinata almost glaring."Hmm..." She pondered. "Fine."

Hinata actually smiled a little at that. At least the blonde bully was acknowledging the truth of that instead of denying it in a ridiculous way like yesterday.

"But, it wasn't too untrue. He was a little beastly."

"What?"

"The whiskers, Hinata." Ino answered."And that was just one rumor out of a few others."

"They're not true." Hinata stood firmly.

Ino squinted her eyes."Did he say so? Did you ask him?"

"I did! And he said-" She paused mid-sentence as the memory came to her mind.

 _"I-I suppose they do have some truth to them.."_

"I don't believe them. She said instead." And tried to sound just as firm as she was before.

Ino smirked, seeing right through her. "I knew it. The mid wasn't kicked out of school for no reason."

"He wasn't kicked out of school." Hinata defended. Last time the girl claimed he was held back.

"Whatever, he didn't go to school for a whole year and I'm sure there's a reason for it." Ino's smirk grew."He's dangerous. Be careful, Hyuga-Princess." And with those last words she walked past her, she suspected back to tier classroom.

She left Hinata feeling more than frustrated. How could that girl get her so riled up and leave her in a sour mood? It was just so-so, ugh! And she couldn't even think of anything to say back. But, whatever at least she was done with her.

Hinata sighed, trying to calm herself down, and turned to walk back when she stopped, seeing a familiar face. Sakura. The pinkette was standing on the stairs, looking a bit lost in thought as she stared at Hinata. But she snapped out of as soon as she noticed that Hinata had caught her.

She smiled sadly and walked up the rest of the steps. "Hey, good morning." She said, nervously.

Hinata was caught off guard, she was not expecting such a friendly greeting after her argument with Ino."Goodmorning." She answered back and smiled slightly.

"So, um.." Sakura started, and shifted her eyes."I guess this means." She sighed heavily and looked back at Hinata."I guess this means you and Ino aren't friends anymore."

Hinata nodded her head and answered kindly. "To be honest, we never really were. It was all just an act."She may have disliked Ino, but she really didn't dislike Sakura. The only thing that annoyed her about the pinkette was the girl's undying loyalty to the Yamanaka, which was just her kissing up to Ino.

"I just thought that you two were not in your right minds. That-that if you just talked everything would work out." She sighed."Even still, for me, it wasn't like that. I truly thought of you and Ino as my closest friends."

Hinata didn't know what to say, Sakura just looked so deflated. And he had no idea the girl thought that way. It made her feel guilt."I'm sorry.."

"No, you don't have to be." she shook her head."If I'm, to be honest, I do understand you and your reasonings...I suppose."

"Sakura."

"We should get to class, some other students are coming in now." She hurriedly said and ran down the halls calling Ino's name.

Hinata sighed and watched her go. Now she was no longer angry but felt lonely. Was it just her who felt that way? She didn't know. But the thought of Naruto reassured herself. she made the right decision. And she wasn't alone, she had Naruto now. She didn't have to hide her relationship with him anymore. And they could have tons of fun together.

The thought of that made her brighten instantly. It was almost scary really. Just one thought of the goofy guy made her happy. She chuckled to herself. And smiled. Yes, that was right she had him now.

 _And Sasuke._ A tiny voice in her head reminded her.

Oh yes,Sasuke, another problem she had to deal with. Though, he was Naruto's friend so she knew she couldn't handle it, right?

It made her think she needed to make more friends herself.

~ . ~

The thing Naruto wanted to show Hinata and Sasuke was a surprise indeed. Especially the way he presented it. In fact, it was a surprise to everyone in their homeroom. It all happened unexpectedly. It happened during class.

Hinata was trying to pay attention to Mr. Hatake as he spoke about-about...something! She wasn't really listening at all. Yes, she had a lot less on her mind since her talk with Ino. But she still had to deal with Uchiha Sasuke. Of course, she wanted to get along with him for Naruto's sake. But obviously, the feeling wasn't mutual. He only ever sent glares at her.

What could you do with a guy like that! Why did he even dislike her so much? Well, she supposed she did beat him up, but it wasn't severe or anything. She would have to apologize and then maybe they could get off to a better start.

As she stared at the oblivious Uchiha's back, thinking this, she heard a grunt behind her. Slowly, but subtly she turned her head to look at Naruto. He was shifting in his seat uncomfortably, and he looked rather impatient. Even gained a look or two from Ino and Sakura.

Was he okay? He had been like that for a while now. _Are you okay?_ She mouthed. And as a reply, he simply nodded his head as he shifted again. He didn't look okay.

And then she began to turn away when she heard him snickering. That was enough for her to continue staring. He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth to suppress his snickers from getting any louder. It was not only weirding Hinata out but the others around them, that were becoming more aware of him.

She opened her own mouth to shush him, but she was too late. Before she knew it, he dropped his hand burst out laughing. And now he had received the whole classrooms attention.

Lucky for him, it was a quick laugh and he immediately realized his mistake because he quickly went quiet. "Ahem." he coughed, sitting in his seat awkwardly.

Hinata herself was embarrassed for him.

"Tell me, Namikaze Naruto, class representative. Whatever did you find so funny to disrupt class?" Mr. Hatake asked, tilting his head slightly. He, himself, looked quite amused, but obviously ready to dish out a punishment.

Naruto looked to Hinata then to Sasuke before looking to their teacher."You see, teacher." He began and as he did so the corners of his mouth started to twitch into a smile."the thing is...the thing is." he started to crack and before they knew it he was laughing again.

deadpanned.

Hinata facepalmed.

Sasuke sighed.

"I'm sorry!"He laughed."I-it's not laughed some more."Really."

Hinata stared at him incredulously, and then she noticed something about Naruto. His shirt. Something in his shirt was moving. And quite frankly, it freaked her out."N-Naruto? Wh-what is that?" She pointed.

She didn't have to ask twice. Because the something in his shirt decided to come out - or more lie burst out through his neck hole.

Staring back at Hinata's lavender eyes was the beady eyes of an orangish fennec fox cub. It stared, she stared back. And then it's ears twitched.

Something like this, yes, it was definitely a Naruto thing to do.

* * *

Yay! Update! I started chapter fifteen as soon as I finished this one! And I'm so happy to update this sooner than last time. I know you guys must be as well.

I don't think I have much to say this time around except, DA VICKS. He reviewed, though it was short, I appreciate it. I hope you update Ageless Love soon.

Also, what did you guys thought Naruto's surprise was, eh? Haha, well you can say what along with other things in the reviews! Remember to favorite and follow and you know what, it must get annoying having to read this after every chapter...

Hope you enjoyed!

Little Miss Kairi out~!


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